MONROE, Mich. (WXYZ) — West Nile virus has been detected in Monroe County, health department officials said on Tuesday.
The mosquito-borne disease was found in a dead wild mallard, officials said. No human cases have been reported in the county this year.
A human case of West Nile virus was detected in Livingston County, health officials reported last week. Before that, it had been five years since Michigan reported a human case of the virus. Non-human cases have been reported across the state this summer.
The Monroe County Health Department is urging residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites for the rest of summer and early fall.
The health department says about 1 in 5 people with the virus develop symptoms that include headache, body aches, joint pains and fatigue. The virus can also lead to severe neurological complications and death in rare cases.
“It only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to cause severe illness,” Chris Westover with the Monroe County Health Department said in a statement. “We encourage residents to take steps to prevent mosquito bites to the greatest extend possible.”
To protect yourself, health officials provided the following tips:
- Use insect repellents that contains DEET or other EPA-approved products to exposed skin or clothing.
- Wear light-colored long sleeved shirts and pants when outdoors from dusk to dawn when mosquitoes are most active and apply insect repellent to clothing.
- Keep mosquitoes outside by keeping windows and doors closed most of the time
- Empty water sites around the home like buckets, unused kiddie pools and old tire to prevent breeding sites where mosquitoes can lay eggs.
Talk to your doctor if you believe you may be infected with the virus. You can report cases in Monroe County to the Environmental Health Division at 734-240-7900.
You can find more information about West Nile virus on the state’s website.
