WEST NILE WATCH

Precautions needed until 1st hard frost

Three new cases of West Nile virus infections in three counties across New Mexico show the threat remains, health officials say.

Three New Mexico men have been hospitalized with a neuroinvasive form of West Nile virus, bringing the total number of cases this year to five, health officials said Tuesday.

The mosquito-borne virus may continue to circulate until the first hard frost, Health Secretary Lynn Gallagher warned.

The new cases included a 53-year-old Bernalillo County man, a 57-year-old Doña Ana County man, and a 40-year-old McKinley County man. Previous cases were reported this year in Rio Arriba and Valencia counties.

In 2015, the N.M. Department of Health identified 14 cases of West Nile virus infection in people, including 12 with neuroinvasive disease, none of which was fatal. Three horses were diagnosed with West Nile infections last year.

Symptoms of a milder form of illness, West Nile fever, can include headache, fever, muscle and joint aches, nausea, and fatigue. People with West Nile fever typically recover on their own, although symptoms may last for weeks or months. Symptoms of neuroinvasive disease also can include neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis.

No vaccines or medications are available to treat or prevent West Nile infections. People 50 and older, and those with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk.

People can take steps to reduce the risk of infection from a mosquito bite. They include:

Use an approved insect repellent when outdoors. Environmental Protection Agencyapproved repellents contain DEET, picaridin, IR3535 and oil of lemon eucalyptus/paramenthane-diol. Wear long sleeves and pants at dawn and dusk.

Regularly drain standing water where mosquitoes breed, including in empty cans, tires, buckets, clogged gutters, and saucers under potted plants.

Use air conditioning or make sure doors and windows are screened.