DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ill. (WTHI) - The West Nile Virus has arrived in Illinois.Â
On Wednesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health said it discovered its first confirmed virus case in 2024.Â
Health officials said the sample was collected in Douglas County. Douglas County is where Tuscola is.Â
IDOH says this case is earlier in the year than usual due to a mild winter. They said people should start protecting themselves or their horses. Horses can get a vaccination.Â
Contact your local health department for potential testing if you come across a sick or dead crow, blue jay, robin, or other perching bird.Â
West Nile is spread through mosquito bites. Common symptoms include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches. In severe cases, people could suffer severe illness, including meningitis, encephalitis, or even death.
The Illinois Department of Public Health shared the following tips:
- ¸é·¡¶Ù±«°ä·¡Ìý- make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut.Eliminate, or refresh each week, all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires, and any other containers.
- ¸é·¡±Ê·¡³¢Ìý- when outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a light-colored, long-sleeved shirt, and apply an EPA-registered insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, IR 3535, para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.
- REPORT � report locations to your local health department where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito larvae.
Additional information and data can be found at IDPH’s  website and the West Nile virusÂ
