ORANGE COUNTY (KTLA) — A 61-year-old woman in Orange County has died of West Nile virus, the first person in the county to die from the disease since 2008.
The death was reported on Monday by the Orange County Health Care Agency.
The woman died of West Nile Neuroinvasive Disease last week after being ill for several weeks, the agency said in a news release.
It wasn’t immediately clear where the woman was from, or where she contracted the virus.
A total of 39 cases of West Nile virus infections have been reported in Orange County this year, the highest figure since 2008, according to the OCHCA.
There have been 148 cases of West Nile in Los Angeles County this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Ventura county has seen only four cases, while Riverside County has had 19 and San Bernardino County has had 31, CDC figures show.
West Nile virus is a virus that is most commonly spread by the bite of an infected mosquito.
It affects the central nervous system and can cause a potentially serious illness with symptoms including fever, headache, and body aches, nausea and vomiting.
You can reduce your risk of West Nile by taking steps to prevent mosquito bites, including:
-Draining standing water from around your home (which can serve as mosquito breeding sites)
-Using insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535 on exposed skin
-Limiting outdoor activities from dusk to dawn, which are peak mosquito biting times
-Making sure screens on your windows and doors are in good shape to keep mosquitoes out
For more information, visit: http://www.ochealthinfo.com/epi/wnv/
8 Comments to “O.C. Woman Dies from West Nile Virus Infection”
December 17, 2012 at 12:15 PM
Mexicans are bringing these diseases into this country from their horrible worthless country they are from called mexico!…theres nothing good coming from this deadly destructive mexican invasion of our country……not a thing!….and you know i'm right!
December 17, 2012 at 12:36 PM
If you want to be taken seriously, you probably shouldn't use adjectives like "horrible" and "worthless" to describe any country.
December 17, 2012 at 1:00 PM
I never realized the Nile was in Mexico. You must be better at geography than me!
December 17, 2012 at 1:24 PM
if its such a nice place,then why are they fleeing their own country?….and why doesnt their country's govt care if they all leave?…..and why doesnt the mexican govt allow illegal undocumented immigration in their country,yet they expect the usa govt to allow it?….there is absolutely no other country in the entire world that would allow 20 million undocumented aliens to invade their country!…..every mexican female you see has 3 children and 1 in the oven!…..and you wanna call that immigration?……and why didnt they come 50 years ago,why now?…..
December 17, 2012 at 1:57 PM
West nile virus does not come from Mexico. it was first isolated in the province of Uganda in 1937 .The first recorded epidemics were reported in Israel in the 1950s and in Europe in 1962. cases and outbreaks have been reported from Africa, India and Romania . it had never been identified in the Americas before 1999. So before you go on in making false accusations and saying "you're right" do some research.
December 17, 2012 at 2:28 PM
hey jay why dont you answer my other questions about mexico?…do some research on LARAZA,and the 3,431 beheadings in mexico in the last 3 years,,and the 47,000 murders in mexico in the same time frame….then you need to check out the hottest tabloid on the mexican store shelves thats selling 7 million copies a week,,,,,its called ALARMA……run a check on that jay and then throw me another post…mexico is currently the most violent country in the world besides africa,,,and mexico now leads the world in beheadings!!!!….even 20 times more than the muslim countries,and they have allways lead the world in beheadings….do your own research on all the above before posting,,,,see what you come up with jay……..look forward to hearing from you….
December 17, 2012 at 3:27 PM
"mexico is currently the most violent country in the world besides africa" …. When did the county of Africa come into existence?
December 19, 2012 at 2:17 PM
you're going on a tangent… when did this all turn into be-headings or killings, you said mexicans are the ones that brought the virus…and thats what i responded too…stand by your words and defend your original argument…or did you just realized that you just spoke out of your ass?