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.

Flu Shot Clinic on campus

With flu season on the horizon, Cal State Long Beach will be conducting a Flu Shot Clinic this Tuesday (10-2-2012) and Thursday (10-4-2012).

Both clinics will be held at the University Student Union Ballroom. Tuesdays clinic will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday's will be from 9 a.m to 1 p.m.

Flu shots will be administered to students, teachers and faculty. They will cost $15 and all forms of payment will be accepted.

According to the College of American Pathologists, influenza outbreaks can occur as early as October, but are more common in January.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises all people to get vaccinated yearly. As of Sept. 21, approximately 96.8 million doses of the influenza vaccine have been distributed. 135 million doses are projected to be produced this flu season.

For more information about the influenza virus, click here or here.

About this blog

This weekly blog will break down the Student Health Services Center and the Health Resource Center at Cal State Long Beach.
Throughout Fall 2012, this blog will be the place to find out more information about the services that are provided. Many Long Beach students are unaware of all the services provided by the Health Center at no cost outside of the cost of tuition.
This blog will also try to keep up with different health trends affecting Long Beach Students, especially when cold and flu season starts up. If there are health trends or sicknesses going around, this blog will try to let you know