CHICAGO \u2014 One person in Chicago has died from West Nile virus, the Chicago Department of Public Health reported on Tuesday, the city and state\u2019s first death from the mosquito-borne disease in 2026.<\/p>\n
City health officials reported the death along with the city\u2019s first two human cases of West Nile virus of the year on Tuesday, days after the Cook County Department of Public Health reported<\/a> the season\u2019s first four cases in the suburbs. The city did not provide details on the deceased or disclose where the West Nile virus cases originated. <\/p>\n Chicago has seen higher-than-average rainfall<\/a> this summer \u2014 Midway Airport\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0more than 20 inches of rainfall between June 1 and early August. The Southwest Side airport typically sees about 13 inches of rain from June to late August. Officials say the heavy rain can increase mosquito breeding.<\/p>\n \u201c2026 has seen the rainiest summer in Chicago in years, giving mosquitoes ample opportunities to breed,\u201d Department of Public Health Commissioner Garth Walk said in a Tuesday news release. \u201cThe best way to protect yourself from West Nile virus is to avoid mosquito bites and take measures to stop them from breeding around your home.\u201d<\/p>\n Illinois Department of Public Health Director Sameer Vohra said in a statement that this \u201cyear\u2019s first death in Illinois related to\u00a0West\u00a0Nile\u00a0virus is a sobering reminder to take mosquito-borne illness seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n Chicago public health department officials sprayed insecticide, , which kills adult mosquitoes, in 15 community areas over the past several weeks. The communities sprayed include: Beverly, Burnside, Chatham, East Garfield Park, Lower West Side, Morgan Park, Near West Side, North Lawndale, O\u2019Hare, Pullman, Roseland, South Deering, Washington Heights, West Lawn and West Pullman.<\/p>\n The city also works to control mosquito populations by treating more than 80,000 catch basins in Chicago with larvicide to kill immature mosquitoes, officials said. <\/p>\n West Nile virus is typically spread to humans via the bite of an infected mosquito, not person to person, city health officials said. Most people infected don\u2019t feel sick, but about one in five develop a fever and flu-like symptoms, while severe illness can occur in about one in 150 people, most of whom are over age 60. <\/p>\n Chicagoans have reported<\/a> an uptick in mosquito bites this summer, but experts attributed it to a growing population of the invasive Asian Tiger mosquito, which doesn\u2019t transmit West Nile virus. Culex mosquitoes, one of the most common in the state, often called house mosquitoes, are the primary carriers of West Nile virus in Illinois.<\/p>\n How To Protect Yourself<\/p>\n There are no specific medications to treat West Nile virus in people, so officials say the most effective method to prevent infection is to prevent mosquito bites. <\/p>\n To do so, use an insect repellent registered with the Environmental Protection Agency that contains ingredients like DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus. <\/p>\n Eliminate standing water weekly to reduce mosquito breeding on your property, including emptying water from any indoor or outdoor containers like flowerpots, gutters, pet water dishes and birdbaths. Keep grass and weeds short to eliminate hiding places for adult mosquitoes. <\/p>\n Wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing, long sleeves, pants, socks and shoes when outdoors between dusk and dawn. Ensure screens, windows and doors are tight-fitting and free of holes, and use air conditioning and fans when possible.<\/p>\n ______________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n Support Local News!<\/strong><\/p>\n Subscribe to Block Club Chicago<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago\u2019s neighborhoods. Already subscribe?\u00a0Click here to gift a subscription<\/a><\/strong>, or you can\u00a0support Block Club with a\u00a0tax-deductible donation.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO \u2014 One person in Chicago has died from West Nile virus, the Chicago Department of Public Health…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1037796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,210,5386,1818],"class_list":["post-1037795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-chicago","tag-health","tag-il","tag-illinois"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117198572221620946","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037795","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=1037795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1037796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1037795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1037795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1037795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}