West Nile virus found in Kentucky: UK expert shares what to know

KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — After two confirmed cases of West Nile virus in Kentucky over the past month, experts are reminding people to protect themselves from mosquito bites. 

Cases of West Nile virus are typically seen in the late summer through early fall each year. 

“It’s pretty common that West Nile will pop up in mosquito pools throughout much of the United States from time to time, especially during mosquito season, which we’re still in the tail end of right now,” said University of Kentucky Department of Entomology assistant extension professor Hannah Tiffin. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 770 cases of the virus have been reported nationwide as of early September. 

“It has to be an infected bird that a mosquito bites and gets the virus,” Tiffin explained. “Then it has to, when it feeds another time, transmit that virus to us.”

She said people who are 60 years or older are more at risk of developing severe illness. 

“It can cause kind of flu-like symptoms as well. So you might think you’re just kind of coming down with a cold or something, and really, it’s a mosquito-borne virus, and you’re able to recover from it most times. But it is something to be aware of because it can cause neurological conditions in its severe forms.” 

Humans aren’t the only ones at risk; horses can contract West Nile, too, and Tiffin stresses the importance of vaccines. 

“Because it can cause serious clinical signs in horses, and we do have several horses that die from West Nile virus and a couple of other different types of mosquito-borne viruses in Kentucky,” added Tiffin. 

While people and horses are considered to be “dead-end” hosts, meaning they can’t spread it further, prevention is still key. 

“Mosquito species can lay eggs and reproduce in a really small amount of water, so making sure that there’s less areas around your property where you could be harboring mosquitos is really important.”