{"id":1036090,"date":"2026-09-01T02:15:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T02:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1036090\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T02:15:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T02:15:20","slug":"human-case-of-west-nile-virus-confirmed-in-duval-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1036090\/","title":{"rendered":"Human case of West Nile Virus confirmed in Duval County"},"content":{"rendered":"

DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. <\/strong> \u2013 The Florida Department of Health in Duval County has confirmed a locally-acquired human case of West Nile virus, prompting health officials and Jacksonville Mosquito Control to launch coordinated prevention efforts, including ground spraying throughout the area.<\/p>\n

DOH-Duval is urging residents to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites and reduce mosquito breeding grounds near their homes.<\/p>\n

Drain standing water<\/p>\n

Experts say one of the most effective ways to reduce the mosquito population is eliminating the standing water where they breed.<\/p>\n

Health officials say residents should drain water from garbage cans, buckets, pool covers, coolers, toys, flowerpots and any other containers where sprinkler or rainwater has collected. Old tires, drums, bottles, cans, pots and pans, broken appliances and other unused items should be discarded.<\/p>\n

Birdbaths and pet water bowls should be emptied and cleaned at least once or twice a week. Boats and vehicles should be covered with tarps that do not accumulate water, and swimming pools should be maintained in good condition and kept appropriately chlorinated. Plastic swimming pools should be emptied when not in use.<\/p>\n

Cover your skin<\/p>\n

When spending time outdoors, especially during peak mosquito hours, covering up is key.<\/p>\n

Wear shoes, socks, long pants and long sleeves whenever possible. Mosquito repellents applied to bare skin and clothing are also effective \u2014 look for products containing 10 to 30 percent DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535, and always follow label instructions.<\/p>\n

For children younger than 2 months old, mosquito netting is the recommended form of protection.<\/p>\n

Keep mosquitoes out of your home<\/p>\n

Keeping mosquitoes outside starts with well-maintained screens.<\/p>\n

Residents should inspect and repair any broken screening on windows, doors, porches and patios to prevent mosquitoes from entering the home.<\/p>\n

Symtoms of West Nile Virus <\/p>\n

Symptoms usually start 2\u20136 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito but can start anywhere from 2\u201314 days. It may take longer for symptoms to start for people with a weakened immune system.<\/p>\n

No symptoms in most people<\/p>\n

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most people (80%) infected with West Nile virus do not develop symptoms.<\/p>\n

About 20% of people who are infected develop flu-like symptoms, such as a fever with headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. Most people with mild illness due to West Nile virus recover completely, but fatigue and weakness can last for weeks or months.<\/p>\n

Seek immediate medical attention if you experience high fever, neck stiffness, muscle weakness, confusion, or tremors. No medicines are available to treat West Nile<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Less than 1% of people infected develop severe illness that affects the central nervous system, requires hospitalization, or results in death.<\/p>\n

Statewide surveillance continues<\/p>\n

The Department of Health says it continues to conduct statewide surveillance for a range of mosquito-borne illnesses, including West Nile virus, Eastern equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, malaria, chikungunya and dengue.<\/p>\n

Residents are also encouraged to report dead birds \u2014 which can signal West Nile virus activity in the area \u2014 to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.<\/p>\n

For more information on mosquito control and prevention activities in Duval County, residents can visit the city of Jacksonville\u2019s Mosquito Control Program webpage. To request an inspection or spraying of a property or neighborhood, call 904-630-CITY (2489). For general health inquiries, contact DOH-Duval at 904-253-1850 or visit the department\u2019s mosquito prevention webpage.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 The Florida Department of Health in Duval County has confirmed a locally-acquired human case…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1036091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,3188,723,7310,53723,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,127198],"class_list":["post-1036090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-america","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-jacksonville","tag-mosquito","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-west-nile"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117193377516465180","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1036090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1036090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1036091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1036090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1036090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}