I'm adding bug spray to my war bag at work

Riverside Woman May Be Latest West Nile Victim

A 60-Year-Old Woman Reportedly Died From Virus

Aug 26, 2004 1:00 pm US/Pacific
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) A 60-year-old woman with West Nile virus died in Riverside County, but further tests are necessary to determine if she was the state's 10th victim of the mosquito-borne illness, a health official said Thursday.

The unidentified woman had serious health problems unrelated to West Nile, and doctors are still trying to determine the exact cause of her death, said Barbara Cole, director of disease control at the county Department of Public Health.

"We're not counting it as a West Nile death. We're calling it a West Nile-related death," Cole said.

Thus far, the state has officially reported 277 human cases and seven deaths involving the illness.

But since those statistics were released on Tuesday, local officials said two more people died from the illness in San Bernardino County. The state figures will be updated on Friday.

Nationwide, West Nile has infected 843 people and killed 20 this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 80 percent of those infected with the virus will show no sign of the illness, while up to 20 percent experience mild symptoms that include fever, headache, body aches, nausea and vomiting, according to the CDC.

About one in 150 people infected with the virus develop severe symptoms that can include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis, the CDC said.

If anybody spends alot of time outdoors in the late morning or early evening, it is highly recommended  to use insect repellent. I think my nieghbor's daughter got a mild case of it because she is a youth camp counselor at the local daycamp. She had to go home from work, she was so sick she couldn't drive herself home because she couldn't see straight, so this west nile virus is not to be lightly.

Heck, I live in the mountains and have 5 dogs. It's SOP for me to put on DEET when I get home from work because I leave the deck door open so the dogs can go in and out at will.

I keep a small bottle of insect repellent wrapped in 2 heavy freezer bags in my emergency kit just incase, because you will never know when you need, and out in the wilds there may not be any suitable substitute.