WEST NILE VIRUS & MOSQUITO MITIGATION

Health Department Initiatives in Public Education, Surveillance and Response to West Nile Virus

Increasing public awareness of the need for mosquito control, ongoing surveillance of vulnerable populations and coordination of response to outbreaks offers the best chance of controlling this disease

Combating Outbreaks of West Nile Virus Through Education, Surveillance and Control

The Environmental Health Division takes a lead role in Will County efforts to combat outbreaks of WNV by raising public awareness about the disease through education, surveillance of potentially infected humans, mammals, and birds; and controlling the spread of the disease.

West Nile Virus and It’s Effects

West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause mild illness (West Nile fever) or severe symptoms (encephalitis or meningitis) in humans bitten by infected mosquitoes. Mosquitoes can become infected when they feed on birds that are carrying the virus. Currently there is no vaccine for WNV, and therefore mosquito abatement is one of the most important tools used to reduce the incidence of the disease. The young, immune-compromised, and people of the age of 50 and over are more likely to develop serious symptoms from WNV. These groups of people should take special care to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.