City of Grand Forks urge people to take extra caution to avoid West Nile Virus

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KVRR) — The City of Grand Forks is urging people in the area to take extra precautions to avoid being bit by mosquitoes.

West Nile virus was confirmed in a pool of mosquitoes collected in the city Tuesday.

Officials say they usually look to national news early in Spring to keep up and see if there are any West Nile cases across the country.

They say they recently heard about a case in the Midwest then collected samples.

“Even last Friday, they reported there was a case in Iowa. So, we added additional traps just for the West Nile end of it based on some other evidence that we have. Last Tuesday, we identified a pool of mosquitoes that were positive with West Nile,” says Todd Hanson, the Grand Forks Mosquito Control Manager.

The virus comes with symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, skin rash, and swollen lymph nodes.

Some cases could be asymptomatic and in rare cases, the virus is life-changing.

“I think one percent or less than one percent of people that are infected will develop what we call neuroinvasive disease and that can lead to meningitis, which is inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord or encephalitis which is actually inflammation of the brain itself. This can even lead to paralysis,” says Becky Schmidt, an epidemiologist at Clay County Public Health.

Officials are advising you to wear long-sleeved shirts and pants especially during the time of day when mosquitoes are most active.

“The species for mosquitos most common for transmitting West Nile is one that’s more active in the evening and during the night, during the dark hours. So, we encourage people to apply mosquito repellents that have DEET. If you have any standing water in your yard, anything that’s going to be holding water for more than a week, we recommend getting rid of it,” Hanson said.

Hanson says to check in on your provider if you feel like you have any West Nile symptoms.