Ohio\u2019s first 2017 death in a human West Nile virus case has been reported by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH).\u00a0 The 74-year-old Defiance County man had been hospitalized with encephalitis.<\/p>\n
The Ohio Department of Health is reporting a total of 10 human cases of West Nile virus across the state. Counties with at least one case include – Clark, Clermont, Cuyahoga, Defiance, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton (2), Logan and Summit.\u00a0 In recent years, Ohio reported 17 human West Nile Virus cases in 2016 including four deaths, 35 in 2015 including two deaths and 11 in 2014 including one death.<\/p>\n
The primary way people get West Nile virus is through the bite of an infected mosquito. Most people who become infected with West Nile virus do not have any symptoms.\u00a0 About one in five people who become infected develop a fever with other symptoms such as headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. Less than 1 percent of infected people develop a serious neurologic illness, such as encephalitis or meningitis (inflammation of the brain or surrounding tissues).<\/p>\n
\u201cThis time of the year, the risk of West Nile virus infection increases and individuals should take precautions to avoid mosquito bites and eliminate potential mosquito breeding sites,\u201d said ODH State Epidemiologist and Bureau Chief of Infectious Diseases Sietske de Fijter. \u201cMosquito season in Ohio lasts until the first freeze which is not usually until mid-October.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are some tips to avoid mosquito bites:<\/p>\n
\u2022 If you are outdoors between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active, be sure to wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, shoes and socks.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Wear light-colored clothing, which is less attractive to mosquitoes.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Use EPA-registered mosquito repellent and follow the label directions.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Install or repair screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out of your home.<\/p>\n
Here are some tips to eliminate mosquito breeding sites around your home:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Eliminate standing water.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Empty or remove water-holding containers, such as buckets, unused flower pots and bird baths.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Make sure all roof gutters are clean and draining properly.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Keep child wading pools empty and on their sides when not being used.<\/p>\n
Learn more about mosquitoes and West Nile virus on the ODH website at www.odh.ohio.gov\/wnv.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ohio\u2019s first 2017 death in a human West Nile virus case has been reported by the Ohio Department of Health<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[499],"tags":[4888,2748,8662,5230,8661],"class_list":["post-19001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-defiance-county","tag-mosquito","tag-odh","tag-ohio-department-of-health","tag-west-nile-virus"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YQd9-4Wt","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-27 12:05:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19001\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}