Mosquito spraying under way with serious concerns about West Nile virus in Chicago area
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Cook County Department of Public Health rates the current risk level for getting the West Nile virus as high.
This means what might start out as merely scratching an itch could become a serious medical issue.
"West Nile is a virus just like a cold is virus, or a flu is a virus. But this is a virus that is spread from mosquitoes; mosquito bites," said Dr. Scott Goldstein, a pediatrician with Northwestern Children's Practice. "Typically in the U.S. every year, I think there's thousands of cases."
From the East Coast to the Midwest, crews in tank-equipped vehicles have been spraying for mosquitoes have been spraying to prevent that number from rising West Chicago in DuPage County has a spray scheduled for Monday night.
"It gets dispersed in the air pretty quickly and gets pretty diluted, and really is just supposed to effect the mosquitoes," said Goldstein.
As of Monday, the Illinois Department of Public Health counted nine cases of West Nile on the state this year.
"Nine is a pretty small number," said Goldstein.
Symptoms of West Nile are hard to distinguish from other typical summer illnesses. Most people don't have symptoms at all, while those who do present fever, body aches, joint pains, and sometimes a rash.
"If they're having severe symptoms—things like severe headache, or confusion, or trouble walking, things like that—they should seek medical help urgently," Goldstein said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who headed up the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is recovering from the West Nile virus. He had been hospitalized for six days.
The Chicago Department of Public Health compared the data from their last recorded outbreak in 2012 to the rates in 2024—concluding that though they say the risk is high, the numbers do not compare to what the area saw a dozen years ago.
The worst West Nile outbreak in the U.S. to date came in 2002. In Illinois alone, there were 884 cases across the state and 67 deaths, with 42 of them in Cook County.
West Nile virus cannot be packed from human to human. Experts say symptoms, if any, can last a few days to a couple of weeks.
Public health officials recommend using insect repellent, wearing loose clothes, and staying away from pools of water at dusk and dawn to minimize risk.