A 76-year-old Kern County man has died of West Nile Virus (WNV) after three months of fighting the disease. This is the first death of the 2013 WNV season, according to a press release from Kern County Health Officer Claudia Jonah, M.D.

Precautions she advises include:

•Be sure screens on doors and windows are secure;
•Apply repellent with DEET if you are going out at dawn or dusk;
•Drain all sources of standing water in which mosquito larvae could hatch; and
•Alert the county (at 661-321-3000) for green pools of water, or discovery of dead birds or squirrels.

The WNV hotline is 1-877-WNV-BIRD or see westnile.ca.gov.

This is part of the November 22, 2013 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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