T
JUST THE FACTS
ABOUT...
WEST NILE VIRUS

Health officials monitor for West Nile virus to
identify when virus is an area/county.

  • Annual West Nile surveillance activities begin
    statewide on May 1st

  • Monitor birds, humans and horses

  • People can help by reporting dead birds to Dead Bird
    Reporting Hotline at 800-433-1610

  • Most people will not get sick or develop symptoms

  • Approximately 80% of people infected with WNV do
    not become sick. The remaining 20% may experience
    mild symptoms of fever, headache, and a rash that
    lasts a few days (Symptoms usually occur three to 14
    days after a West Nile virus infected mosquito bites a
    person.)

  • Children, older adults and people with compromised
    immune systems are at an increased risk of severe
    disease from the virus

  • If you think you have WNV, contact your physician
    who may be able to treat your symptoms






  • Use of repellents (follow label instructions)

  • Make sure window screens don’t have any holes

  • Remove breeding sites such as containers filled with
    water, tires, cleaning gutters




  • The risk of WNV is greater later in summer when
    mosquitoes are active – 75% of human WNV cases in
    Wisconsin have gotten sick in August and September

  • The type of mosquito that carries WNV is called a
    Culex mosquito

  • People who’ve had WNV are immune for a lifetime

  • Wisconsin has been monitoring the spread of WNV
    since 2001
People can take precautions to protect
themselves from mosquito bites.
Other Facts:
How severe can WNV be?

Less than 1% of people infected with West Nile virus will
become severely ill. Symptoms of severe illness include
extreme muscle weakness, inflammation of the brain
infection may be fatal, particularly in the elderly and
people with other medical conditions.
Additional information on West Nile Virus can
be found by clicking on the following link:

WEST NILE LINK