Everyone loves being outside during this time of year, whether at the Jersey Shore, biking in a state park or just relaxing in your backyard, you need to safeguard from West Nile virus (WNV).
Residents are encouraged to follow some important preventative measures that will help to reduce the risk for being infected with West Nile virus, said New Jersey Health and Senior Services Commissioner Dr. Poonam Alaigh. Using mosquito repellent, wearing long sleeves and long pants and limiting outdoor activity when mosquitoes are most active, during dawn, dusk and the evening are key to prevention.
Lori Ann DiRienzo, health educator for the City of Clifton reminds residents that it is also important to take personal precautions to protect from WNV whenever possible. NJDHSS recommends using mosquito repellent or insect repellent with DEET to clothing and exposed skin according to directions on the label. Wearing long sleeves and long pants when practical and avoiding outdoor activity when mosquitoes are most active.
Residents should also clean or remove any items on their personal property that can collect rain or sprinkler water and serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, such as clogged gutters, flowerpots, bird baths, garbage can lids or old car tires.
Residents should also completely change water in birdbaths and kiddie pools at least once a week and remove any other standing water sources.
Residents should also repair window and door screens.
The West Nile virus, an arboviral disease, is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. WNV is not directly transmitted from birds to humans.
About one in 150 persons, or less than 1 percent of those infected with West Nile virus will develop a more severe form of the disease. Symptoms of the more severe disease include severe headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis. However, the elderly are at higher risk of more severe disease. New Jersey’s WNV surveillance, control, and prevention activities involve the coordinated efforts of a number of federal, state and local agencies.
These include DHSS, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, the CDC, the State Mosquito Control Commission, the Rutgers Center for Vector Biology, and local health and mosquito control agencies.
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