Do We Need To Worry About West Nile and EEE Viruses Now?

OneEyedDiva

OneEyedDiva

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Location
New Jersey
Even though these diseases carried by mosquitos are not widespread now, some states, including parts of New York and New Jersey, are taking no chances and are conducting widespread spraying. Several states now have cases of West Nile. Two deaths were reported as of today...one in Illinois and the other in Wisconsin. The linked article includes tips on how to stay safe. @chic I really hope you have not contracted one of these viruses!

"People in some areas of Massachusetts have been warned to stay indoors when mosquitoes are most active after a rare case of eastern equine encephalitis was discovered. And Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former top U.S. infectious disease expert, was recently hospitalized after he came down with West Nile virus.

Both are nasty diseases spread by mosquitoes — though thankfully they are relatively rare."
Current Year Data (2024)
 

I had West Nile a few years ago and it was not fun. It did not put me down hard, but it lasted over six weeks and made me miserable with the oddest collection of symptoms

I had:
A rash around both ankles that looked terrible but did not itch or hurt.
My neck would "lock up" unless I kept those muscles warm. This got painful at times.
I also had back aches, leg aches, stomach aches. and periodic leg aches.

My doctor could do nothing for me except tell me that it would clear out on its own.
But if it got bad enough, they would hospitalize me since some people were dying from it.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Even though these diseases carried by mosquitos are not widespread now, some states, including parts of New York and New Jersey, are taking no chances and are conducting widespread spraying. Several states now have cases of West Nile. Two deaths were reported as of today...one in Illinois and the other in Wisconsin. The linked article includes tips on how to stay safe. @chic I really hope you have not contracted one of these viruses!

"People in some areas of Massachusetts have been warned to stay indoors when mosquitoes are most active after a rare case of eastern equine encephalitis was discovered. And Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former top U.S. infectious disease expert, was recently hospitalized after he came down with West Nile virus.

Both are nasty diseases spread by mosquitoes — though thankfully they are relatively rare."
Current Year Data (2024)
Click to expand...
Thank you. I've got some kind of virus that's for sure and I did get a mosquito bite a few days ago, Staying in hardly helps because the town where the outbreak of E.E.E started did NOT have the financial resources to spray the mosquitoes! In New York, they did spray and discovered the mosquitoes were carrying West Nile virus. I'm doing ok. Sleeping a lot and trying to eat. Yesterday I pulled myself together to make some homemade chicken soup because I feel chilled and it helps. It's delicious BTW. :giggle:
 
Pecos said:
I had West Nile a few years ago and it was not fun. It did not put me down hard, but it lasted over six weeks and made me miserable with the oddest collection of symptoms
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Hi, Pecos. Did you have West Nile while you were living out of North America. I didn’t even realize it was here until I read about Dr. Fauci.
 
The spraying has become an annual event in the northern suburbs of my home in Central New York.

They spray by plane and encourage people to remain indoors with windows closed and ventilation systems off until the spray has a chance to settle.

Triple E started becoming an issue here after many of the low lying swampy areas were developed with new housing construction.

We had one death several years ago and have a handful of serious infections each year.

I wouldn’t panic over it but I would wear a bug repellent, and try to stay covered at outdoor events where you might be bitten by a mosquito.
 
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Here in Florida, they spray on a regular basis. I do not know if that kill all mosquitoes. Right now in my part of Central Florida we are having an invasion of blind mosquitoes. They come on a regular basis but they do not bite or carry disease . They are just annoying!
To protect against West Nile virus, I would use insect repellent and wear protective clothing. Also limit my outdoor activities and reduce mosquito breeding sites (like standing water etc...)
 
Georgiagranny said:
I'm with those who think we should be cautious...that is, use bug repellent when we're outdoors, make sure we have screens on windows and doors...common sense.

Worry? No. I've got enough to worry about.
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I'm with you about erring on the side of caution GG. I meant to respond to (in the other thread) your post about the after effects of your surgery. Not having kept up with that thread, I don't know what kind of eye surgery you had, but I'm so sorry you are in pain. I'm wondering if that is unusual for what you had done (?) I had two surgeries... for both cataracts and glaucoma at the same time, but the eyes were done a year apart. I never experienced pain.

Get Well Soon Floral.jpg
 
Pecos said:
I had West Nile a few years ago and it was not fun. It did not put me down hard, but it lasted over six weeks and made me miserable with the oddest collection of symptoms

I had:
A rash around both ankles that looked terrible but did not itch or hurt.
My neck would "lock up" unless I kept those muscles warm. This got painful at times.
I also had back aches, leg aches, stomach aches. and periodic leg aches.

My doctor could do nothing for me except tell me that it would clear out on its own.
But if it got bad enough, they would hospitalize me since some people were dying from it.
Click to expand...
OMG MDB: I'm so sorry you had to go through that, but certainly glad it didn't "take you out"!

@chic I guess it's a good sign that you were able to make soup! When I had "something" several years ago, I had a high fever (104), could hardly open a can of soup. When I put the bowl of soup on the table...all I could do was eat two spoons of it and lay across the table. My son (who didn't live with me at the time) and husband were both out of town for a few days, so I was alone.

I know I should have gone to the hospital, but didn't because I couldn't fathom sitting in the ER waiting room for hours and hours plus I didn't want to risk giving whatever I had to whoever transported me. In retrospect, I realize I could have died, being diabetic, that sick and not eating. :rolleyes:
 
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I had West Nile virus about 10 years ago, from a mosquito bite. I was sick for two weeks, very weak and tired, and coughing a lot, with a fever. It was like a bad case of flu. I can imagine that it could be much more serious for the very elderly, or people with pre-existing conditions.
 
When we bought our RV in 1995 I bought a can of insect repellent. A couple of years ago, I threw the can out. It was never used. It’s not because we didn’t go into the wilderness. We just don’t seem to have many bugs. If they start to swarm in the evening, I go indoors.

My DDs live in Ontario cottage country. It seems like they have bugs from the end of snow season to the start of the next snow season. I’m going to remind them to be aware of this virus.
 
Jules said:
When we bought our RV in 1995 I bought a can of insect repellent. A couple of years ago, I threw the can out. It was never used. It’s not because we didn’t go into the wilderness. We just don’t seem to have many bugs. If they start to swarm in the evening, I go indoors.

My DDs live in Ontario cottage country. It seems like they have bugs from the end of snow season to the start of the next snow season. I’m going to remind them to be aware of this virus.
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I used to market natural products such as soaps, candles, foot soaks, lip and foot balms and body oils. One of the products was a mister called Beat The Heat, which is water based and contains peppermint oil. My son, who won't use products with preservatives and chemicals, swears by the BTH mister for warding off mosquitos.
 
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Avon's "Skin So Soft" repels mosquitoes. My late Aussie mother-in-law suggested it - and, it really does work.
 

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