Boulder County health officials announced Tuesday that a Longmont resident was infected with the West Nile virus after being exposed to an infected mosquito. The case is the county’s first confirmed in a human this year.
The person was likely exposed to an infected mosquito at a Longmont home and has recovered, according to a Boulder County Public Health news release.
Longmont recorded its first positive West Nile virus mosquito pools of the season as of a Wednesday afternoon city news release. The city began Thursday to control the spread of the virus. The virus has also been detected in Weld and Larimer counties, according to the city’s release.
Just two other people have been affected by the virus in Colorado, one in Larimer County and another in Jefferson County, according to the state health department data, which was last updated Wednesday.
The West Nile virus is spread through the bite of infected mosquitoes, according to county health officials. Most people infected with the virus don’t have symptoms, but some experience fever, headache, aches, fatigue, skin rash or swollen lymph nodes. In rare cases, the virus can cause serious illness.
“A case in one community does not mean the risk is limited to that area,” Nick Laramee, a communicable disease epidemiologist at Boulder County Public Health, said in the release. “Everyone can reduce their risk by taking simple steps to avoid mosquito bites whenever they spend time outdoors.”
Residents can protect themselves from mosquito bites by using insect repellent, making sure window and door screens fit, removing standing water around homes, and wearing long sleeves, especially during dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active, according to the release.
