Officials: West Nile case suspected in Huntington Town

A 72-year-old man from the Town of Huntington is believed to have contracted West Nile virus, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services said Monday.

Suffolk spokeswoman Grace Kelly-McGovern said the man is being cared for at a hospital. She said it would take about a week for the state laboratory to confirm the case.

If the state confirms it, the case would be the second known human case of West Nile in Nassau and Suffolk this year. A 66-year-old woman from New Hyde Park contracted the mosquito-borne virus in early July, according to the Nassau County Department of Health.

Statewide, there have been no other confirmed cases of West Nile this year, according to state Health Department spokesman Tom Allocco.

In Suffolk, 38 mosquito pools have tested positive for West Nile so far this season, the county said.

In Nassau, 30 mosquito pools have tested positive, said Nassau health department spokeswoman Mary Ellen Laurain.

To avoid getting the virus, health officials urge residents to:

remove or empty standing water from containers;

make sure roof gutters drain properly;

keep swimming pools chlorinated and their covers free of stagnant water;

change the water in birdbaths every two or three days;

chlorinate or circulate water in decorative ponds if they do not contain fish;

install window and door screens and keep them in good repair; and

wear long sleeves, pants, socks and mosquito repellent if outdoors when mosquitoes are active, especially in the late afternoon and evening.

West Nile Symptoms

NO SYMPTOMS About 80 percent of people infected with West Nile virus will show no symptoms.

MILD OR MODERATE Up to 20 percent who become infected have symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. Symptoms can last for as little as a few days, although some have become sick for several weeks.

SEVERE About one in 150 people infected will develop severe illness. The symptoms can include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent.

SOURCE: U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION