(Cindy Horswell, Houston Chronicle)
A woman from northeast Houston has become the first confirmed case this year of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, just as surveillance teams are finding mosquitoes infected with the potentially deadly virus spreading into 38 ZIP codes in Harris County.
The woman, whose name was not released, has been hospitalized since Thursday in serious condition. She is over age 50, which puts her in the high-risk group for those who are more likely to have a severe reaction to the virus. Those with compromised immune systems are also in that group.
Harris County workers are using 268 traps, which they place in storm sewers to collect mosquitoes that are taken to labs for virus detection.
“We’re starting to see the West Nile virus circulating throughout the county now,” said Sandy Kachur, Harris County Public Health spokeswoman.
Three other counties – Fort Bend, Montgomery and Brazoria – also are trapping mosquitoes that test positive for the virus.
Originating in the West Nile Valley of Uganda – the virus infects birds, which are then bitten by mosquitoes who in turn infect humans, explained Porfirio Villarreal, Houston’s health department spokesman.
The disease eventually worked its way over to the United States with the first cases in the Houston area being recorded 10 years ago.
In the last decade, the virus has been linked to 22 deaths and 365 confirmed cases in Harris County alone. (Read the full story at Houston Chronicle)
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