Dallas County reports fifth case of West Nile virus

DALLAS - Dallas County reported its fifth case of West Nile virus on Monday.

The patient had the more serious neuroinvasive version of the disease. That more serious illness has been diagnosed in nearly every confirmed patient so far this year.

The county health department announced its fifth case Monday. The number of cases has already outpaced last year.

So far this year, Dallas County reported five cases of West Nile Virus in human patients. Four out of the five are the potentially deadly, neuroinvasive form of the disease.

"One affects the brain. The other one doesn’t. This situation for this particular case was neuro-invasive so that means it affects the brain," said Christian Grisales with the Dallas County Health and Human Services.

According to the CDC, the neuroinvasive form of the virus only develops in about one percent of the people who contract it.

Most people who contract it may not notice symptoms at all, so it’s likely many cases don’t get confirmed.

"People should monitor their symptoms. A lot of times, we ignore mosquito bites, and we think that it’s just a mosquito. Nothing’s going to happen. But we just don’t know," Grisales said.

This season, nearly every confirmed case has been a neuroinvasive disease.

Cases reported in Tarrant and Denton County this month were also the more serious version of the disease.

"This is a concerning amount of cases because mosquito activity remains high in Dallas County," Grisales said.

Dallas County Health and Human Services says traps are set out all around the county. They are monitored daily to see if mosquitoes are carrying the virus. If they are, the area gets sprayed.

Health and Human Services strongly recommends taking precautions when you’re outside, especially at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are more active.

"Wear repellent that contains DEET. Second, wear long sleeve clothing to prevent mosquito bites. Light-colored clothing will be best," Grisales said.

Last year, Dallas County reported just three human cases of West Nile. One of them resulted in a death.