Watch out Austin County, mosquitoes infected with the West Nile Virus were found in our neighboring county of Fort Bend, Sugar Land to be exact reports the Houston Chronicle.  This does not mean that we need to issue a countywide alert, in fact 70 – 80% of those who are infected with West Nile show no symptoms.  However, the CDC does report that  1 in 5 people who are infected will develop flu like symptoms and less than 1% of people will develop severe symptoms.  These are usually the very young, the elderly and those who have suppressed immune systems or certain medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure) and kidney disease are also at greater risk for serious illness.

Business-Directory-AdThe best way to combat West Nile is to prevent mosquitos from biting you in the first place:

  • Use insect repellents when you go outdoors. Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, and some oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products provide longer-lasting protection.
  • Wear long sleeves and pants from dusk through dawn when many mosquitoes are most active.
  • Install or repair screens on windows and doors. If you have it, use your air conditioning.
  • Help reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home. Empty standing water from containers such as flowerpots, gutters, buckets, pool covers, pet water dishes, discarded tires, and birdbaths.

For more information concerning West Nile Virus, visit the CDC’s website.