No local uptick in West Nile virus right now

Springfield, MO--"It's this killer, killer headache. It just makes me feel like somebody has an axe in my head and it hurts really bad." That is how Katharyn Deville feels from the West Nile virus. She lives in Texas. So far 80% of the cases have come from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

There has only been one case in the Ozarks this year. According to the Missouri Health Department, a man in Laclede County who they believe contracted the virus a few weeks ago ended up dying. It's still unclear whether West Nile caused the death or just contributed to it.

Kendra Findley with the Springfield-Greene County Health Department said, "Once we get a confirmed diagnoses, we will call the patient, do a full investigation to just ask questions, where they might have been recently." The Springfield-Greene County Health Department has had only 2 cases in the past 5 years.

If West Nile became a bigger issue, it would be new territory. "I don't know what that trigger point would be. It would just be something we kind of have to go with and monitor the situation and just see where things stand and kind of make a decision as we go", said Mike Brother's with the Springfield-Greene County Health Department

Symptoms for West Nile are similar to the flu such as fever, headache, and fatigue. If you think you have it, you are encouraged to see a doctor who can test to see if it is the West Nile virus. "No, I would not call it a big threat. It's a big threat in other states right now like Texas but not here in Springfield, Missouri." said Findley.

Read more here:
No local uptick in West Nile virus right now

Related Posts

Comments are closed.