CLARK COUNTY — Health officials are investigating a human case of West Nile Virus in Clark County.
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The Clark County Health District (CCHD) confirmed the case, the first in the county since 2021, was in the southern part of the Elmwood Place neighborhood in Springfield.
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West Nile Virus, an arbovirus, is most often spread by infected mosquitoes and can lead to severe fever, inflammation of the brain, or meningitis.
The CCHD said about 80 percent of people infected with West Nile Virus don’t show symptoms.
Mild symptoms of West Nile Virus include fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and swollen glands. Those typically last up to a week.
About 1 in 150 people infected will develop severe illness. Severe symptoms include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, muscle weakness, disorientation, tremors, seizures, paralysis, and coma.
“Whether its spring, summer, or fall there are mosquitoes carrying any number of encephalitis-causing illnesses that can make people very sick,” Chris Cook, Clark County Health Commissioner, said.
The CCHD recommends using an EPA-registered insect repellent to help protect yourself. They also recommend wearing loose-fitting long sleeves and pants when outdoors, as well as limiting outdoor activity between dusk and dawn.
To help reduce mosquitoes around your home, they recommend emptying, covering, or discarding items that hold water, such as buckets, tires, flowerpots, birdbaths, and trash containers.
If you have a container that cannot be emptied, officials said products containing Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis can control mosquito larvae. Many of those products can be found at garden and home improvement stores.
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