West Nile Virus Detected in Gooding County

GOODING COUNTY, Idaho – Public health officials said West Nile Virus has been detected in at least one mosquito in another south-central Idaho community.

The Twin Falls County Pest Abatement District collected the mosquito in a trap along the Snake River in Gooding County. Earlier this summer the abatement district found that a mosquito collected in Twin Falls County also carried the virus.

So far the virus has only been reported with the insects. No human cases of the virus have so far been reported this year in south-central Idaho. The local health district, however, urges residents to “act now to avoid catching the disease.”

“Thankfully we haven’t received any confirmed human cases of West Nile in our region this summer,” Logan Hudson, nurse program manager for South Central Public Health District, said in a statement on Friday, “but this is about the time of year we tend to start getting calls from the local medical providers reporting cases.”

Typical symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea and rash, according to the health district. It said people over the age of 50 or those with serious medical condition are more at risk to catching the disease.

The virus is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. The health district offers the following tips to prevent against such bites:

• Use insect repellent with an EPA-registered active ingredient like DEET, especially at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes carrying the virus are most active;
• Wear loose-fitting clothes with long sleeves and pants;
• Install screens on all windows and doors;
• Check for and drain any standing water around your home every three to six days. This includes clogged rain gutters, pools, bird baths, old tires and other outside water features.