Person dies from West Nile Virus in Contra Costa County
The West Nile Virus has reared its head in two heavily populated Bay Area counties, with one county reporting a West Nile virus death last week.
Contra Costa County, historically a hotbed for mosquitos and considered uninhabitable a century ago, reports that just over a week ago it saw its first West Nile virus death in 18 years.
The unnamed victim died on July 18.
"Individuals over 60, 65 tend to experience more severe illness… also individuals who have co-morbidities such as other chronic illnesses like diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, individuals that might have weakened immune systems," said Dr. Meera Sreenivasan of the Contra Costa Health Department.
Contra Costa's Mosquito and Vector Control District also reports it found the virus in East County in one dead bird and in a brood of surveillance chickens.
"This week we found that five of the six birds at the chicken coop that we keep in Oakley actually tested positive for West Nile Virus," said Contra Costa Vector Control Public Information Officer Nola Woods.
Mosquitoes can transmit a whole range of diseases, with West Nile Virus first appearing in the U.S. in 1999 and Zika in 2016.
"As far as humans are concerned, West Nile Virus is the illness that we work the hardest to prevent," said Woods.
The most effective way to control mosquitoes is to get them while they're still in the water developing. Once they're airborne, they're not only a pest, they can carry disease.
West Nile Virus can degrade human health with symptoms including fever, headache, vomiting, or rash.
Santa Clara County is reporting that it has verified that mosquitoes carrying the virus have been found in five zip codes in the county, all connected in northern San Jose and the Alum Rock area.
Vector Control says it will use truck-mounted pesticides on July 29 and Aug. 1, from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m.
"Majority of individuals, however, don't get sick. They can get a bite from a mosquito, and they don't even know they're infected," said Dr. Sreenivasan.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says that only one in five people who become infected develops a fever and other symptoms. Only one out of 150 infected people develop a serious illness or sometimes, death.