Please protect your pets, and yourself against mosquitoes this season.

You can visit Mosquitobuzz.com for all the latest information on the West Nile Virus in your area.

According to Cornell University’s Environmental Risk Analysis Program (ERAP), during 2002, the West Nile Virus was detected in the U.S. in a least 44 states and Washington D.C. Its range had expanded steadily during each of the three years following the initial North American outbreak in 1999. In Texas alone, there were 190 human cases with 11 fatalities in 2002. The WNV was confirmed in 337 birds, and 733 horses tested positive for WNV. The first cases ever detected in the state were on June 19, 2002. The WNV is a form of encephalitis, a generic term for the inflammation of the brain caused by bacterial or viral infections. It has been responsible for millions of human infections from the Western Mediterranean and Africa to the Middle East. In 1996, the WNV spread into Europe and in 1999, it was found in New York City. Out of 62 confirmed cases in New York City, seven fatalities were reported. The following year, 21 cases, including two deaths, were reported in the area. In 2001, 56 people, 400 horses and thousands of wild birds were affected. At least eight people died. In 2002, the WNV spread across the country into 41 states and Washington D.C. with 43 human deaths confirmed by the centers for disease prevention.

Symptoms of the disease begin three to 12 days following a bite from an infected mosquito.

Young children, adults over the age of 50, and individuals with weak immune systems are more at risk for severe infections. Early symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, drowsiness, vomiting, and skin rash and swollen lymph glands. More severe cases can cause high fever, focal paralysis, disorientation, coma convulsions and death.

Malaria is an ancient disease caused by a blood-borne parasite that infects and then destroys red blood cells. Malaria victims can suffer repeated episodes of fever or anemia, leading to death.

Dengue Fever is responsible for half-a-million hospitalizations and thousands of deaths each year. It is found in over 100 countries. The main symptoms are skeletal pain, fever and chills.