One person has died since the beginning of the year, another has been hospitalized in serious condition
Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus (WNV) have been discovered in Israel for the first time this year in the Eilat area, authorities said Tuesday.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, one person has died since the beginning of the year after contracting the disease transmitted by the mosquito, another was hospitalized in serious condition after being bitten.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection, for its part, has asked the municipality of Eilat to carry out monitoring and, if necessary, immediately carry out pest control.
The mosquitoes carrying the virus were discovered in late July near date plantations in Eilat, Kibbutz Grofit and the Aqaba crossing point with Jordan.
People infected with West Nile virus usually have flu-like symptoms and recover within a week, but in rare cases the illness can be fatal.
Since there is no vaccine for West Nile fever, Dr. Oren Ashet Kathabi, from the Division of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health, recommended, ahead of the high period of virus activity in Israel – between mid-August and mid-October – take extra precautions to avoid mosquito bites.
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