New York's Central Park is about to be closed for the second time in a month for mosquito spraying. Meanwhile, movie screens in several hundred theaters in high-risk New York counties are carrying messages urging consumers to replace torn window screens and eliminate sources of standing water in which mosquitoes breed. To reduce infection risk, the CDC also recommends the use of insect repellent, wearing long sleeves and long pants, and staying indoors at dawn, dusk, and the early evening. The elderly are the most vulnerable to West Nile encephalitis. After being infected by the virus, victims initially feel fever, headaches, and muscle pain.
Symptoms can worsen to encephalitis, bringing coma and possible death.
Officials have found no signs of the disease in children in the U.S., but children have died in other countries from the ailment. All rights reserved. All rights reserved.