Williamson County Health, TX

In Texas, mosquito bites are more than just an annoyance. Mosquitoes can transmit diseases that can make you and your family sick. Some mosquito-borne diseases can cause birth defects and others can be fatal. Mosquitoes may become infected when they bite an animal, bird, or person who is infected with a virus or parasite. Infected mosquitoes can then spread the illness to people through bites.

The best way to fight the bite, WCCHD recommends the 3-Ds of mosquito safety:

• Drain standing water in flower pots, pet dishes, or clogged gutters so mosquitoes don’t have a place to breed and treat water that can’t be drained,
• Defend by using an EPA-approved insect repellent, and
• Dress in long sleeves and pants when outdoors.

Download a 3-Ds poster

For large bodies of water, WCCHD recommends: 

• Change water in wading pools and birdbaths several times a week.
• Use mosquito dunks with larvicide for water that can’t be emptied or covered.
• Keep backyard pools and hot tubs properly chlorinated and free of debris.
• Screen rain barrels and openings to water tanks or cisterns.

Use the EPA's Right Insect Repellent search tool to help you choose the repellent product that is right for you. You can specify :

• mosquitoes, ticks or both;
• protection time;
• active ingredient; or
• other product-specific information

Yes, pets can get West Nile virus. Horses are very susceptible to West Nile virus but can be vaccinated. Cats and dogs rarely, if ever, get sick. Most infections have been identified in birds, but West Nile virus has been shown to infect dogs, cats, horses, and domestic rabbits, as well as bats, chipmunks, skunks, and squirrels. (2) Birds can become very ill from the virus, so it is recommended that pet birds be kept indoors, especially during dawn and dusk.

West Nile virus is NOT spread by casual contact such as touching, kissing, or caring for someone who is infected.

Humans get WNV by:
1. Infected Mosquitoes
Humans primarily get West Nile virus through mosquito bites. WNV is spread to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. A mosquito gets infected by biting a bird that is infected with the virus. An uninfected mosquito cannot bite an infected human and become infected. Mosquitoes also do not transmit the virus between people.

2. Transfusions, Transplants, Mother-to-Child
Rarely, the virus has been spread by blood transfusion, organ transplant, breastfeeding, and from mother to child during pregnancy. Donated blood is check for WNV before being used.

Symptoms generally occur 2-14 days following the bite of an infected mosquito.

The incubation period is 2-6 days but can range from 2-14 days. This period can be longer in people with certain medical conditions that affect the immune system.

There is NO specific treatment, medication, cure, or vaccine. Most people who get this illness recover from it on their own. In more severe cases, people may need to go to the hospital where they can receive supportive care to treat their symptoms. There is a West Nile vaccine for horses that can be administered by your veterinarian.

Medical professionals don’t believe so. Like many other viruses, medical tests indicate that once a person has been infected with West Nile, he/she develops a natural immunity to future infection by the virus for life. However, this immunity may decrease over time or with further health conditions that compromise the immune system. Because West Nile has not been active in the United States for many years, future tests may tell us more about the long-term health implications of West Nile. 

WNV has a very low risk. Even in areas where the virus is circulating, only around 1% of mosquitoes are infected with the virus. 80% of West Nile virus infections are asymptomatic, meaning a person never gets sick. 20% of people may experience West Nile fever, which presents as flu-like symptoms. Less than 1% of people who get bitten and become infected will get West Nile neuroinvasive disease, however the immunocompromised and those >50 years old are more likely to experience West Nile neuroinvasive disease.

Infected mosquitoes are the primary source of WNV. While some tick species have been implemented in West Nile transmission in Africa and Asia, the natural occurrence is very rare and there have been no reported cases from North America.

Yes, Williamson County does have WNV. West Nile virus is in Williamson County and is transmitted through the bite of the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus. WCCHD currently operates a West Nile surveillance program in collaboration with the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Outbreaks of WNV disease have occurred in Africa, Egypt, Israel, Asia, Romania, Russia, and France. Before 1999, however, WNV had never before been found in the Americas. The most likely explanation for its appearance here is that the virus was introduced by an infected bird that was imported or by infected mosquitoes that were introduced through shipping ports. 

Suspect: A patient with symptoms similar to West Nile might be considered a suspect by their physician. Since they would also be suspect for a multitude of others diseases with similar signs, they are not counted or reported by Texas.

Positive case: Many laboratories can test for West Nile and may find positive results. These results are often cross-reactions with other conditions and may not represent a true West Nile positive. Only those results that meet the case definitions for “Confirmed” or “Probable” will be reported as “cases.”

Confirmed: A febrile illness associated with neurologic manifestations ranging from headache to aseptic meningitis or encephalitis, plus at least one of the following:

• Isolation of WN virus from or demonstration of WN antigen or genomic sequences in tissue, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, or other body fluid;
• Demonstration of IgM antibody to WN virus in cerebrospinal fluid by IgM-capture enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA);
• A > 4-fold serial change in plaque-reduction neutralizing test (PRNT) antibody titer to WN virus in paired, appropriately timed serum or cerebrospinal fluid samples;
• Demonstration of both WN virus-specific IgM (by EIA) and IgG (screened by EIA or HI and confirmed by PRNT) antibody in a single serum specimen.

Probable case: Symptoms identical to that for a confirmed case plus one or more of the following:

• Demonstration of serum IgM antibody against WN virus (by EIA);
• Demonstration of an elevated titer of WN virus-specific IgG antibody in convalescent-phase serum (screened by EIA or hemagglutination inhibition (HI) and confirmed by PRNT).

Q: I have backyard chickens… can they get or transmit WNV?

A: Poultry can neither directly infect other birds, animals, or humans, nor act as a reservoir for the virus.
Although chickens and turkeys can become infected with the virus
when bitten by infected mosquitoes, these birds do not develop the clinical disease. Their immune
system quickly responds to infection by producing antibodies that clear the virus from their body.
Also, because the virus can be transmitted only through the bite of an infected mosquito, infected
poultry present no significant public health risk.

Q: If my chickens were exposed to infected mosquitoes, are the eggs safe to eat?

A: Yes, your chicken's eggs are safe to eat! Poultry can neither directly infect other birds, animals, or humans, nor act as a reservoir for the virus.
If your poultry is exposed to the virus, it cannot be passed from adult bird to egg.

READ MORE - WNV in Poultry from Penn State.