West Nile infections set a record - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

West Nile infections set a record

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Luneda Brown, Sumter County Health Dept. Nurse Manager Luneda Brown, Sumter County Health Dept. Nurse Manager
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West Nile virus cases nationwide are up 40 percent since last week.

It's the highest human toll since the mosquito borne disease was first detected in the country in 1999.  

So far this year, 66 people have died from the West Nile virus, and almost 1,600 illnesses have been confirmed.

Health officials are urging you to be careful and try to reduce your risk of getting bitten by mosquitoes.

"Do everything possible not to get bitten by a mosquito, stay inside from dusk to dawn, wear long sleeves, use insect repellent,"says Luneda Brown, Sumter County Health Dept. Nurse Manager.

West Nile has killed three people in Georgia so far this year. Two in Dougherty County and one in Early County.

 

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