By Angela Brown

Health officials keep eye on West Nile Virus

Jul 6, 2017 | 10:00 AM

While there is no evidence of West Nile Virus in the Battlefords currently, residents should continue to play it safe to reduce their risks, according to Prairie North Health Region.

“Every summer there is a program in place to monitor the emergence of West Nile,” said Prairie North Chief Executive Officer David Fan, following the Prairie North board meeting in North Battleford on June 28. “So far this year we haven’t seen any evidence of it. The mosquito that carries West Nile is not evident in Prairie North, in our part of the province. That’s a good sign, but it still means we need to keep on top of it to make sure that we monitor it.”

Dr. Denise Werker, Saskatchewan’s deputy chief medical health officer, said in a June 21 press conference, while there are no issues now, that can change from week to week as the summer progresses, since the warmer temperatures hasten the development of the Culex tarsalis mosquitoes, which are known to carry the West Nile Virus. 

Werker said some people won’t even know if they have contracted the virus, so it’s important to be vigilant.

She said 80 per cent of people who contract the virus will not have any symptoms.

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In about 20 per cent of cases, people will have a mild illness such as a slight fever and headache that will disappear without treatment. There is no need to seek a healthcare provider for this.

However, in less than one per cent of individuals’ infected, “there can be serious consequences with this infection,” she said.

In these types of cases, people are at risk of getting an inflammation of the brain and spinal fluid, associated with West Nile Virus neuroinvasive disease, which is potentially life-threatening.

“If someone has a severe headache, high fever, neck stiffness… or seizures, they should seek medical care as soon as possible,” Werker said.

She added the best prevention against WNV infection is to avoid getting bitten by a mosquito.

While the risk throughout the province is very low now, “the risk will increase during the season.”

Werker said since experts have been monitoring for WNV from 2003 to 2016, there have been a total of 157 neuroinvasive WNV cases in Saskatchewan. From that amount, 17 individuals have died as a result.

“We know for each neuroinvasive infection, there are probably about 150 other infections that are not reported,” Werker added.

“We know the risk of WNV infection increases during the [summer] season. The mosquitoes that are around currently are more nuisance mosquitoes; they don’t carry the disease,” she said.

Werker recommends people use insect repellant, and take precautions, including wearing suitable clothing and covering up when they are outside during the periods in the day —  at dusk and dawn — when there is increased risk of being bitten by a mosquito.

By taking these steps, individuals can help reduce their risks of contracting tick-borne and mosquito-borne diseases.

Werker pointed out the CT mosquito is not like a nuisance mosquito. It is smaller, doesn’t buzz, and its bites are less irritating.   

“They are not as noticeable, which is another reason why we want people to use preventative measures,” added the health expert.

In Saskatchewan, in 2003 a total of 63 people contracted WNV neuroinvasive disease, while in 2007 there were 76 people who contracted this disease. But in 2015 and 2016 there were no reports of these cases.

Based on the province’s latest surveillance results as of July 1, 2017, results show only a low number of Culex tarsalis mosquitoes have been detected in the southern and central Saskatchewan area, but no WNV-positive mosquitoes have been found.

To date, there have been no reports of humans testing positive for WNV and no deaths related to the disease this year in Saskatchewan. 

The province reports the WNV transmission risk has increased from minimal to low for the central and southern regions of Saskatchewan as of July 1. The region includes Saskatoon as well as Prairie North health regions. The southern part of the province is also rated as low risk. Risk levels can range from minimal to low, to moderate or high. There are currently no moderate or high risk regions evident in the province.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW