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Human West Nile Case in Mobile County

By WKRG Staff

Published: Thu, July 26, 2007 - 6:07 am

Lab results from the Mobile County Health Department, indicates a probable human case of West Nile virus. This is the first case reported in Mobile County this year. It involves a man in his 30s who lives in the 36693 ZIP code. He was treated and released from a local hospital and is recovering.

According to Dr. Bernard Eichold, humans with WNV or other forms of mosquito-borne encephalitis such as Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) often have symptoms of high fever, severe headache, nausea, stiff neck, confusion, muscle weakness, paralysis, disorientation, and seizures that are severe enough to require medical attention. In rare cases WNV, SLE, and EEE can cause coma or death. The seriousness of an illness may depend on a person's health and age. WNV affects the elderly most severely, and EEE affects the young and elderly most severely.

The Health Deparment has been aggressively monitoring mosquito activity throughout the county. The most effective and economical method to reduce adult mosquitoes is to reduce their emergence from as many breeding sites as possible by killing the larvae and source reduction. Inspectors regularly check areas with standing water such as roadside ditches, drainage ditches, and storm drains for mosquito breeding and treat as necessary. Due to the large volumes of calls received daily, service requests are responded to on a first-call, first-served basis and may take a few days to be addressed. People can call mosquito control at 690-8124 to report stagnant water that may be a breeding site for mosquitoes.

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