FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, August 31, 2012

Albany County Notified of WNV Case

Pursuant to the 2012 New York State Department of Health Mosquito Borne Illness Surveillance & Response Plan, the Albany County Department of Health is reporting confirmation of a human case of West Nile Virus illness. The illness was in an adult who is doing well. Due to general privacy policies, no further information about the case will be released. While this is the first confirmed human case reported this year, many people who contract West Nile virus do not experience any type of illness. It is estimated that 80 percent of individuals infected with WNV have no symptoms and up to 20 percent of people who become infected will develop mild symptoms including fever, headache and body aches, and possibly a skin rash or swollen lymph glands. Therefore it is believed that a considerable number of human cases of WNV go unreported. However, West Nile Virus can occasionally cause serious illness and death, usually in older adults. It is estimated that one in 150 persons infected with the West Nile virus will experience more severe disease. As recently reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, human cases of WNV have increased by 40% in the United States this year, which is thought to be due to the unusually warm weather. This notification is a reminder that mosquitoes can be active until the first hard frost when mosquito populations are markedly reduced. As WNV illness can be prevented, county health officials encourage residents to protect themselves when outdoors by using an effective mosquito repellent and wearing long pants and long sleeves, especially during dawn and dusk when mosquito activity is greatest. More information on West Nile virus is available at: http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/west_nile_virus/ & http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm.

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