Mosquito Related Illnesses

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Mosquitoes are pesky little critters who are synonymous with summertime outdoor recreation.

Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department Epidemiologist Kaili Shaffer discussed some of the diseases that those annoying insects can carry and why people should be more concerned about getting infected.

“So the local ones that we have, that we’ve seen before are Eastern Equine Encephalitis, La Crosse virus, St. Louis Encephalitis and West Nile virus,” Shaffer said. “And then there’s also other ones that people can get when they like go on vacation… Not necessarily local spread but when they travel they bring it back with them. Those ones are Chikungunya virus, Dengue, Japanese Encephalitis, Malaria, Yellow Fever and Zika.”

Shaffer noted that many people who have contracted West Nile didn’t realize they had been bitten. But other cases report some pretty severe symptoms.

“So usually it starts out with like a flu-like illness, you know,” Shaffer said. “A headache, feeling-like just kind of down, fatigue, that kind of stuff. You can also run a fever, especially with things like West Nile. And then you can also have, like I said, the neurological issues. So just kind of affecting how you’re moving, how you’re even thinking sometimes. Like the brain fog, that kind of stuff. That will definitely lead people to go get treatment. Most of the time you don’t know what it is ’til they run blood tests or you know, your doctor figures out what it is.”

Shaffer recommends that if you don’t feel well after encountering mosquito exposure to seek medical testing to determine the cause. More information about mosquito-borne illnesses can be found on the health department’s website.