GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Kent County Health Department says that four people have tested positive for the West Nile Virus and another is suspected of having the mosquito-borne illness.
Health officials say they don’t know exactly where they caught the disease. The four that are positive are all adults.
“People need to know that mosquitoes are still quite active this time of year,” says Adam London, Administrative Health Officer at KCHD in a press release. “It continues to be important that people take measures to protect themselves from being bitten.”
Symptoms of West Nile can range from a slight headache and low-grade fever to, in rare cases, swelling of the brain tissue that can result in death. West Nile is not contagious from person to person.
Officials say the best way to treat West Nile is prevention and that means avoiding mosquito bites by wearing repellent and staying indoors at dusk.
