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| West Nile Virus is
a disease caused by the bite of infected mosquitoes, and
can infect people, horses, and birds. In people, West
Nile Virus can cause encephalitis, which is a serious
inflammation of the brain.
Most people who get West Nile Virus infection never
have any symptoms at all. A few people have mild symptoms
like fever, headache, and body aches. These people recover
without treatment. An even fewer number of people who
contract West Nile Virus infection are sick enough to
require hospitalization. These people have a severe
illness characterized by fever, fatigue, confusion,
headache, weakness, nausea, vomiting, muscle aches,
stiff neck, abdominal pain, and other symptoms. About
10% of people who are hospitalized with this illness
will die from the infection.
People over the age of 50 appear to
be at greatest risk for West Nile Virus infection. People
who go outside in summer without taking precautions
against mosquitoes may also be at greater risk.
Mosquitoes become infected if they
bite infected birds. Infected mosquitoes can spread
West Nile to humans and animals through biting them
for a blood meal after the mosquitoes have incubated
the virus in their bodies for 10-14 days. The virus
cannot be spread from one person to another.
To protect
yourself against West Nile Virus:
• Get rid of mosquito breeding sites around your
home and neighborhood. These include old tires, bird
baths, wading pools, and any other containers that can
collect and hold water. Ornamental containers should
be emptied and cleaned at least once a week. Fill in
ditches and keep gutters cleaned out, or make sure that
water drains freely.
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants whenever
you are outdoors.
• Use bug repellant containing DEET, and follow
the directions on the repellant package carefully. Apply
repellant sparingly to children, and wash them off with
soap and water when they come indoors. Do not apply
repellant to the hands and faces of children, as they
may get the repellant in their eyes.
• Make sure doors and screens are "bug tight".
• Replace outside lights with yellow "bug
lights".
• Contact your doctor if you feel ill.
Dead birds are often the first sign
that West Nile Virus is present in the community, and
the local health department wants to know about any
dead birds you may see around your residence. Contact
the health department as soon as possible if you see
sick or dead birds, especially crows, blue jays, or
hawks. These birds may be collected to test for the
presence of West Nile Virus. Do not handle the birds
unless directed to do so by the health department. For
further information, contact the Pendleton County Health
Department at 304-358-7565. |
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| Under West Virginia
State Code §§16-3-1, Legislative Rule §64-7
requires the reporting of certain diseases and conditions
to the local health department. This reporting is required
of all physicians, laboratories, hospitals, and any other
health care facility or provider in West Virginia. Disease
reports are kept strictly confidential and are used to
assure that the patient and the patient's contacts receive
appropriate medical care to limit the spread of illness.
The West Virginia Bureau for
Public Health maintains a database of all reportable
diseases for the local health departments. Through disease
surveillance, the local health department gains knowledge
of the pattern of disease occurrence and potential in
the community, in order to control and prevent disease
in the community. A list of the reportable infectious
diseases in West Virginia can be found at the Infectious
Disease/Epidemiology Program link below.
When data indicates an increase in
a particular disease above the expected levels in the
county, the health department undertakes an investigation
to determine if an outbreak situation exists. In an
outbreak investigation, the health department has one
primary goal: to control the spread of illness. Secondly,
the health department attempts to determine the source
of the illness. This is accomplished by personal interviews,
sampling of food or water, running various medical tests
on ill individuals, sampling environmental surfaces,
observing environmental conditions, or combinations
of these methods.
The Pendleton County Health
Department, along with the local health departments
in Berkeley, Pendleton, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral,
Morgan, Pocahontas, Randolph, and Tucker counties, participates
in the District IX Regional Outbreak Response Team,
which consists of sanitarians, public health nurses,
physicians, infection control nurses, the district sanitarian,
the district environmental engineer, and is led by the
regional epidemiologist. This team receives special
training in outbreak investigation and can be activated
to assist with outbreak investigation in any of the
counties within the district as necessary.
Click
here for
helpful links with information on disease control.
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| Following the September
11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the subsequent spread of
anthrax in letters, the Pendleton County Health Department
took steps to establish a network of key organizations
in the county to begin planning for potential biological
threats. The local health department will receive funding
through the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health from
the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Bioterrorism
allocation to the states for implementing additional threat
preparedness measures. Staff members are participating
in statewide focus groups to assist in development of
the state threat preparedness plan.
The health department actively participates in Pendleton
County's Local Emergency Planning Council and is in
the process of developing the department's action plan
in the event of local emergencies and disasters.
Click
here for
helpful links with information on disease control.
Click here to Create a Family Disaster Plan. |
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