By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Fans outside during Friday's football games around the state may have noticed a few extra visitors than usual. With rains continuing into the fall around Kansas, mosquito populations continue to thrive. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has reported one West Nile Virus-related death in North Central Kansas, including Barton, Russell, and Ellsworth counties, but it has not specified in which county the death occurred.
Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control reported nearly 800 cases of West Nile Virus as of early September, including 490 severe cases. Those figures are about 40 percent more than a normal year. Experts say the increase is not necessarily from an increase of insects but a higher proportion of the pests carrying the disease.
The Central portion of Kansas continues to be impacted the most. KDHE reports five known cases in the South Central region, including four neuroinvasive cases. There are four known cases in the North Central region, all neuroinvasive, and the one death. There are no reported cases in the two western regions, and the eastern third of the state has combined for five known cases. So far this year, 86 percent of West Nile patients in Kansas have been male, and 57 percent have been between the ages of 55 and 74.
The South Central area of Kansas, including Pawnee and Stafford counties, remains at high risk, according to KDHE. The rest of the state is classified as moderate risk.
According to KDHE, high risk means that you are at a high risk of being bitten by a mosquito that could be carrying West Nile, based on a high number of mosquitoes identified and a high number of historical human cases.
People over 50 or people who are immunocompromised may want to adjust outdoor activity to avoid peak mosquito hours, which is from dusk to dawn
- Wear mosquito repellent
- Wear long sleeves and long pants when weather permits
- Use mosquito netting on baby carriages and playpens
- Dump standing water twice weekly