This is the mosquito that carries West Nile, Zika, Equine Encephalitis EEE. We currently have West Nile virus present in South Walton so we need to take precaution. As always please look around your home and drain any water standing around flower pots, children’s toys outside, boats anything that create habitat for mosquitoes to breed.
I will keep you posted on West Nile as we continue to receive reports from our test in areas. Fortunately we do not have any humans who have reported symptoms in South Walton. Wear protective clothing use sprays that have a high amount of DEET.
Did you know that 80-percent of people bitten by a West Nile-carrying mosquito show no symptoms of the disease? The remaining 20-percent usually only experience mild, flu-like symptoms—such as chills, fever, headache, muscle weakness, nausea, and vomiting—which disappear within a few days time.
It’s the less than one percent of those bitten by a mosquito with West Nile that develop West Nile Encephalitis, a serious inflammation of the brain or surrounding tissues, which can last several weeks and cause paralyzing neurological affects.
