How to stay safe after West Nile case in Kent County

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A week after the Kent County Health Department announced a resident was infected with West Nile virus, the department explained that the dry weather may be making things worse.

KCHD Supervising Sanitarian Brendan Earl told News 8 that while many think mosquitos primarily breed in wet environments, mosquitos carrying West Nile Virus are the exact opposite.

"When you have those mild winters that generally means that you are going to have a bigger chance of having West Nile Virus that may affect the community," he said. "We don't want to scare anyone, we just want people to be cognizant that this virus is out there in the community."

Kent County resident contracts West Nile, first human case of season

Kent County has only had one reported case of West Nile Virus this season. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, as of last week, 16 people have tested positive for West Nile this year across the state. One of them is in Calhoun County .

Earl warned that mosquito breeding season is far from over, so taking the steps now to protect yourself is crucial.

"What you can do is control the stagnant water around your house. So make sure things like pools, dog bowls, flower pots, bird baths — anything that has stagnant water — make sure that you dump it out and check it regularly to make sure there is not mosquito larvae in there."

Earl said that the early morning and late night hours are when these mosquitoes are primarily out, so your risk of getting bit is higher during those times.

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"If you are out there enjoying a movie night in the park, enjoying a football game, just make sure that you are protecting yourself from mosquitos," he said.

He added that some ways to protect yourself during these hours are wearing long sleeves or long pants and wearing insect repellant.

"We had a human case; we have had multiple positive pools we know it's out in the environment. Don't be scared, we don't want to make anyone nervous and increase their anxiety we just want to give simple tips to protect themselves," Earl said.

According to , approximately 80% of people infected with West Nile virus will not notice any symptoms, but they typically include body aches, joint pain and fatigue.