Southern Nevada is overrun with mosquitoes, many of them carrying the West Nile virus. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Las Vegas may be the gambling capital of the world, but if you are afraid of bugs then it might be best to avoid the Nevada city for the time being.
Health officials have reported that more mosquitoes are currently swarming around Southern Nevada than ever before in state history. Not only that, many of them are infected with West Nile Virus – 3,081 of them to be exact.
Symptoms of the illness can include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and tiredness
West Nile Virus can spread from mosquitoes to humans and causes St. Louis Encephalitis, which does not have a vaccine. Symptoms of the illness can include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and tiredness.
Most people infected by the virus do not show symptoms. However, in rare cases, it can develop into neuroinvasive diseases, such as encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord). These can cause disability or even death.
Southern Nevada Health District released a press release on Monday detailing that 91 pools of mosquitoes across 16 ZIP codes have tested positive for the virus. Many of these bugs are Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, which are aggressive in the day and tend to bite people rather than birds.
Southern Nevada reported only two human cases of West Nile virus last year.
