West Nile Virus in Long Beach

There have been seven cases of the West Nile Virus in Long Beach since August, although only one of these cases was found in a human.

This information is from the City of Long Beach Health and Human Services website, which reports three cases of the Virus in dead birds, three in sentinel animals and one in humans. According to biologyonline.org, a sentinel animal is an animal placed into an environment to detect the presence of an infectious agent like a virus.

City Health Officer Mitchell Kushner sent out a press release in September in regards to the first confirmed human West Nile Virus case since 2009. "As of September 14, 114 human cases have been reported in 23 California counties, including 12 in Los Angeles and 5 in Orange County." You can read the full press release here.

According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 3,969 cases in the United States this year as of October 2. They advise using insect repellant, closing screen doors, and wearing long sleeves at night when mosquitos are most active. They also advise frequently changing out still water, which is where mosquitos like to lay eggs.

Dr. Richard Besser from ABC News said that 80 percent of people who contract the virus will show no symptoms at all. The other 20 percent will appear to just have the flu. However, this virus lasts much longer than the flu. The neurologic form of the flu is by far the most serious. This form occurs in about one out of every 150 patients. In addition to the flu, they have stiff necks, confusion, weakness, vision problems, seizures and in some cases, this can be fatal.

There is no cure for the West Nile Virus, so prevention is the key. Along with avoiding mosquitos, if you see a dead bird or a green pool, they should be reported.