Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
RIVERDALE — Utah's first confirmed case of mosquito carrying the West Nile Virus this season has been confirmed in Weber County.
While that's not surprising in itself, the timing is.
"Probably the only surprise is how early it is," Ryan Arkoudas, director of Weber County Mosquito Abatement said. "Usually we don't see West Nile Virus, whether it's mosquito pools or human cases, until later in the summer."
Arkoudas said the positive test for the virus came back from a sample collected in Riverdale and sent to a state lab last week. Since then, his crews have been working to cut down on the mosquito population in problem areas.
"All the rainfall played a big part in our floodwater mosquito problem," Arkoudas said. "But everything dried up really fast, within a couple of weeks."
Meantime, the Weber-Morgan Health Department is asking people to take some simple precautions, including:
- Use insect repellent that contains DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide)
- Wear long shirts and pants from dusk to dawn
- Remove standing water from around yards and homes
- Make sure windows, doors and screens fit tightly without holes
Amy Carter, a communicable disease and epidemiology nurse, said there is no doubt more cases will come.
"If exposed, you can get symptoms anywhere from about 3-14 days after that bite or exposure," Carter said.
Symptoms can include headache, stiff neck and disorientation.
