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Friday's Health Report: It's important to understand the dangers of West Nile Virus
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BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Health is reminding everyone to protect themselves against mosquito bites and West Nile Virus.
Mosquito-activity increases in the warmer months. Make no mistake, they are out to get you.
“Mosquitoes need to blood feed to obtain proteins and nutrients necessary for egg production, and as such, they hunt humans,” Conor McMeniman at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute said.
Infected mosquitoes are responsible for around 700,000 deaths every year around the world.
West Nile is the most common danger in Louisiana. Most people infected with the virus have no symptoms, but about 20 percent can get West Nile Fever, a flu-like illness. A very small percentage can get West Nile Neuroinvasive Disease, which can be deadly. That is why it is so important to protect yourself.
“There are a lot of things we can do to stop mosquitoes biting us. The first thing is to protect our homes,” McMeniman said.
Window screens, ceiling fans, and air conditioners all make a home less hospitable for mosquitoes.
Remove standing water sources around your yard, because that where the insects like to breed. use personal insect repellant when going outside. EPA-registered repellents contain active ingredients like deet, picaridin, and oil of lemon eucalyptus.
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