By: Samantha Flavell
Oswego County Today intern
OSWEGO – Recently, Oswego County Health Director Jiancheng Huang confirmed the first human case of West Nile Virus in Oswego this year.
The virus has also been detected in the county several times the past several years.
The virus is spread to humans by mosquito bites.
According to Centers for Disease Control, cases have been reported in all of the continental United States.
The report of the virus in this area has raised some concerns among students on the SUNY Oswego campus.
“It’s scary how western medicine still can’t defeat old diseases,” SUNY Oswego Junior Cliff-Simon Vital said.
SUNY Oswego students have been back in classes for more than a month. Some are now worried about what possible health concerns they may come across because of the appearance of West Nile in the area.
McKennan Walton, a SUNY Oswego student went so far as to say she is scared.
Residents of Oswego County can take solace in the fact that according to the CDC, there are instances in which only about 1 in 150 people who are infected with West Nile will develop a serious and possibly fatal illness.
In general, most people who are infected have no symptoms and those who do only 1 in 5 will develop a fever and other symptoms.
In most people, West Nile virus causes no symptoms, but it can cause serious health problems and in rare instances can lead to death, the health director said. Individuals aged 50 and older are at highest risk for serious illness, he added.
According to Huang, the person who was diagnosed with West Nile Virus has been released from the hospital and was recovering at home.
While the local case is disturbing, the Oswego County Health Department is concerned with helping residents lower their risk of being exposed to mosquitoes which may be carrying viruses.
Huang urges residents to use mosquito repellent, wear protective clothing such as long pants and long sleeves when outside for long periods of time especially during the hours between dawn and dusk.
Symptoms include, high fever, muscle pain, neck stiffness, muscle weakness, disorientation and a headache.
Anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek immediate medical attention.
For more information on how to better protect yourself and family against mosquito’s residents may call the health department at 315-349-3564 or visit www.health.ny.gov/diseases/west_nile_virus/
missing or outdated ad config
There comes an age when children are no longer children, and just as with all adults, they come to the realization that we cannot control everything. Not the economy/not politics (esp. not politics!), and certainly not the environment. As recently as the 1980s, we had AIDS to fear and not understand. These SUNY students must realize that they are at much higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases not just of AIDS, but many others from their socially exploratory lifestyles. I remember when sex only meant pregnancy and social ostracism/loss of college lifestyle (and why would you risk THAT), not death. A generation before that my mother and father had to deal with diabetes and childhood diseases as possibly life-threatening. Many still are…but we THINK they aren’t!
I’m sorry these people are entering this precarious psychological place. Yes, death is possible, in a way they never thought as children when their own death was not a consideration, at least not often.
I think West Nile is not what they should fear. With knowledge and caution, it is barely a risk. Binge drinking/sex with the wrong person/driving and texting, FAR GREATER risks!
Two cents.
If a few students are worried about that then they should hide under the covers when it comes to EEE. People in this county have died from EEE. This story must have been written by a student.
Yes I am the author and I am a junior at Oswego State. I do not, however, feel the need to hide under my covers. I understand some people’s concerns that it is something new that they do not understand and for many fear comes with that. But life is full of uncertainty and we must roll with the punches, living life afraid will get you no where. I appreciate your comments and honesty but rest assured we are not all controlled by our fear and should not be categorized so because of our age.
🙂