West Nile Case Identified In Michigan
Health officials have confirmed the first human case of West Nile Virus in Michigan this summer. A Pittsfield Township man tested positive for a mild form of the illness, known as West Nile Fever, but has since recovered.
Laura Bauman, an epidemiologist with the Washtenaw County Health Department, talked with WWJ about the symptoms of West Nile Fever.
"A person tend to maybe get a fever, feel fluish, achy -- may develop a full body rash -- those sorts of thing, but can recover at home," Bauman said.
Baumen says that Mother Nature is actually helping to minimize the illnesses's spread. "We think that there is an immunity that builds up in whole ecosystems," Bauman said.
"West Nile circulates between the birds and the mosquitoes. And, we think that eventually the bird population builds some immunity, so that provides some protection," she said.
The months of August and September are the months of greatest risk to humans for becoming infected with the West Nile Virus.
Learn more about West Nile from the Center for Disease Control at this link.
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