Miami-Dade West Nile virus case toll raised to 22 as four more residents contract it

Devoun Cetoute
·2 min read

Miami-Dade County now has had 22 confirmed cases of West Nile virus after health officials announced four more cases.

On Friday, the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County confirmed four more residents have contracted the West Nile virus infection from local transmission.

Miami-Dade’s first two cases of West Nile virus were detected in May, both in county residents and through local transmission. On June 11, health officials reported two more cases of the virus. On June 25, 10 more residents were confirmed to have the virus. Then on July 3, four more residents were confirmed to have it.

Fewer than 1% of people who contract the virus develop a serious or fatal illness. People with mild symptoms usually recover within a week with treatment. People 60 and older and those with weakened immune systems are at an increased risk for severe disease, health officials said.

Roughly 1 in 5 of those infected develop a fever or other symptoms, such as headaches, pain and fatigue. Symptoms typically appear between two and 14 days after the infected mosquito bites.

Miami-Dade County’s mosquito-control chief, William Petrie, said in late June that this summer’s resurgence of West Nile probably reflects the heavy rains that cause mosquito populations to explode. More mosquitoes mean more mosquito bites, increasing the odds of infection.

The county has been placed under a mosquito-borne-illness alert. The health department said West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the United States. There are no vaccines to prevent it or medications to treat it.

Health officials are reminding residents to “Drain and Cover.” Drain standing water in garbage cans, gutters, buckets, pools, coolers, birdbaths and pet water bowls. Also throw away old tires, drums, bottles, cans and other broken appliances.

Cover skin with clothing and apply repellent. Officials advise using repellents with DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol and IR3535.