Midland Health Services has confirmed West Nile Virus (WNV) in a Midland County resident for the first time this year.
Mosquitoes can carry WNV after they feed on infected birds. The infected mosquitoes can then spread the disease to humans through a mosquito bite.
This disease cannot be spread person-to-person. Eighty (80) percent of those infected show no symptoms at all. For people who do develop symptoms, they can include headache, fever, muscle and joint aches, nausea and fatigue. About 1 in 150 people may develop central nervous system infections and can experience additional symptoms of neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, paralysis, meningitis, encephalitis and even death.
While there are no medications to treat or vaccines to thes