LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As we head into the holiday weekend, many of you will be outdoors.
However, health officials say you should be careful as the mosquito problem grows here in the valley.
I talked to a North Las Vegas woman who tells me that her husband recently got West Nile virus and he has suffered from debilitating side effects.
Kathleen and her husband live in North Las Vegas, near Ann and Clayton. She didn't realize the mosquito problem in her area could get worse until her husband fell ill in mid-June.
"He was very fatigued. It's not like him. He usually wakes up at like six in the morning and he was sleeping in until like eight or nine," she told me. "Then, a couple of days later, he started complaining of severe headaches and he said it felt like his eyes were popping out of his head."
She knew something was wrong and the next day, June 21, she took him to the hospital.
"It took a couple of days to figure out he didn't have the flu and he didn't have COVID."
She and her husband couldn't figure it out and neither could the doctors. The couple requested a West Nile and meningitis test. After about a week, they got the results back and he indeed had West Nile.
"The meningitis was caused by the West Nile," she explained.
After a week and a half in the hospital, she said her husband has returned home and is still recovering.
"He has an IV port in his chest and we have to give him IV antibiotics until Sunday," Kathleen said.
West Nile cases are a growing concern here.
On Wednesday, the Southern Nevada Health District reported 268 mosquitoes have been found with the virus in samples across the valley and now, seven people have tested positive for the virus.
Kathleen says mosquitoes are out in force around her home. She showed me this trap full of mosquitoes from inside her home and a bite she got on her leg.
"The health district reached out and said they are going to set up traps," Kathleen told me. "We have seen so many mosquitoes and they started earlier this year than usual."
She also called a pest control company to spray her yard.
The health district says prevention is key and offered a few tips.
- Dump all standing water
- Cover up when you can
- Use repellent
West Nile symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, nausea, and vomiting, just to name a few.
Kathleen wants people to be aware that the virus is here.
"I would say to protect your family, I would do preventative things around your hours, don't have standing water, and look out for the symptoms."
The health district told me that with the spike in cases and the exploding mosquito population, they are talking with physicians about the virus.
"We put out a notice to physicians basically stating that environmental health is seeing a lot of West Nile in mosquitoes," explained Vivek Raman, a spokesperson for the health district. "If you have patients coming in with these symptoms, please consider West Nile as a diagnosis."
This year, for the first time, the health district is using a map and you can track mosquito activity in your neighborhood.
You can learn more here.
