Many mosquitos present in Colorado right now, and West Nile Virus remains a concern
This is the time of year when West Nile Virus cases typically spike in Colorado. Officials with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment say the warmer weather is creating an ideal climate for mosquitoes that spread the virus.
So far this year in Colorado 25 people have been hospitalized and three people have died from the virus.
Last year there were more than 100 hospitalizations and 11 deaths. That was the worst year since 2003 when cases exploded and led to 66 deaths.
"There's a lot of mosquitos that we run into, especially during the evenings, so it's not been so great," said Victor Rodriguez when a CBS News Colorado crew interviewed him on Thursday in the Denver area.
Most people who contract West Nile will not have severe symptoms. National Jewish Health Dr. Jared Eddy says four out of five people will be asymptomatic.
"If you do develop symptoms, then there is a higher percentage of those people developing what's called neuroinvasive disease and having complications, even leading to death," Eddy said.
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Doctors say symptoms typically grow beyond an itch.
"One thing that you should be looking out for more is that it's a very severe headache or if you actually have what we call neurological symptoms. So for example, you have mental status changes or confusion," Eddy said.
Between West Nile, COVID and monkeypox, Eddy says he knows we have a lot to look out for, and these viruses should be taken seriously.
"We do have to balance having multiple infectious disease threats at once. And the other challenge is that a lot of the symptoms for them are overlapping as well," he said.
The West Nile Virus typically runs from May to October.