Cape Cod is entering August, the peak month for mosquito-borne illnesses.
Dr. Marie Constant, chief medical officer for Outer Cape Health Services, urges residents to take proactive measures to reduce their risk of infection. West Nile virus (WNV) has been confirmed in Barnstable County this year, and Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) typically emerges later in the summer.
The viruses are spread by mosquitoes that feed on blood. Constant said, “In people, sometimes the West Nile virus can cause mild symptoms, but they can also cause very serious neurological diseases.”
Constant added, “There’s no human case of triple E. For triple E, 95% of cases will happen between June and October. For the West Nile virus, cases occur between July and September. Mosquitoes tend to reproduce in warm weather. There was one human case of West Nile virus.”
The risk level of both WNV and EEE is low.
“There is a risk map that the Department of Public Health publishes on their website at Mass.gov that I encourage people to check because it gives the risk per county for the state,” Constant said.
The West Nile virus doesn’t always present symptoms in people who catch it.
Constant said, “A lot of people are infected by WNV and they don’t even know because they don’t have any signs. When they’re sick from it, they might have general symptoms that you’d have with flu. Eighty percent of people don’t feel sick. Less than 1% of people will get encephalitis or meningitis from it.”
Triple E is even rarer. “Most people don’t get sick, and a very small percentage will get severe brain infection. The symptoms I would make you look for here are a high fever, stiff neck, headache, nausea, confusion, difficulty walking or speaking. If those symptoms present themselves, you need to go to the emergency room.”
People can decrease the risk of exposure to these viruses by avoiding outdoor events at dusk or dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.
Constant added, “When you’re outdoors, wear long pants, long-sleeve shirts and socks. That could be difficult when it’s 90 degrees outside. However, people can use bug spray repellent on their clothes and shoes. If you’d like to apply something directly to your skin, I recommend oil from lemon and eucalyptus.”
There are things to reduce your risk at home as well. Constant said, “When preparing for this season, put screens on your windows. Also, remove areas of standing water around your home. Lastly, a pool and gutters — you’ll want to keep thoroughly cleaned.”
An organization on Cape Cod, the Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project, serves all 15 Cape towns.
Constant said, “They do surveillance every year. They go to places where they know there is larvae, and they trap the larvae or trap the mosquitoes and observe what type of mosquitoes were in that area. They offer education. Sometimes, they exterminate certain types of larvae that are difficult for others to get rid of.”
People with autoimmune disorders and children are more likely to catch WNV or EEE in the summer months.
