A Missouri teenager was left paralyzed and on a ventilator after being infected with West Nile virus from a mosquito bite. Meanwhile, the family of a New Hampshire man killed by Eastern Equine Encephalitis is speaking out. NBC’s Maggie Vespa reports for TODAY.
If there is one time of year to break out the bug spray, it’s Labor Day weekend. “This is the prime time — the last week of August and the first week of September — when West Nile usually peaks nationally,” said Dr. Erin Staples, a mosquito expert and medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “People need to be using their insect repellent right now.” Mosquito-borne viruses are making their rounds across the country, sometimes with devastating effects.
“If a person starts getting confused while they are ill with flu-like symptoms, that should trigger a trip to the hospital or urgent care,” Javaid said. How are mosquito-borne illnesses diagnosed? It’s virtually impossible for doctors to diagnose a mosquito-borne illness on symptoms alone. “West Nile and Eastern equine encephalitis can cause the same presentation,” Staples said. “The clinician looking at them is not going to know” the difference without testing.
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