Five cases of West Nile virus infections have been reported in LA County, the first of the 2013 season, the LA County Department of Public Health announced Thursday.


Two adults, who are recovering after being hospitalized, and three healthy blood donors who never became ill, are the county’s first human cases this year[1] , NBC reports.


West Nile virus is passed to humans through an infected mosquito bite, and mosquitoes get the disease by feeding on infected birds.


There were 174 cases in LA County in 2012, the second highest number of human cases since 2004[2] , Patch reports.


Symptoms -- which officials say only about 20 percent[3] of people infected experience -- include headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea or rash, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


Less than one percent of people[4] who are infected with the virus develop a serious, sometimes fatal, neurologic illness., according to the CDC.


The CDC suggests the following steps to avoid infection:

[5]


~ Use insect repellents when you go outdoors. Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, and some oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products provide longer-lasting protection. To optimize safety and effectiveness, repellents should be used according to the label instructions.

~When weather permits, wear long sleeves, long pants, and socks when outdoors. Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection. Don't apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin. Do not spray repellent on the skin under your clothing.

~Take extra care during peak mosquito biting hours. Take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing from dusk to dawn or consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.

~Install or repair screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes outside. Use your air conditioning, if you have it.

~Help reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home by emptying standing water from flowerpots, gutters, buckets, pool covers, pet water dishes, discarded tires, and birdbaths on a regular basis.


Earlier on HuffPost:




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  • Jamie Lynn Sigler


    The actress, most well-known for her role on "The Sopranos," <a href="http://www.nj.com/sopranos/ledger/index.ssf?/sopranos/stories/050301cinderella.html" target="_hplink">contracted Lyme disease in 2000</a>. Her feet began tingling and eventually her legs became paralyzed. Doctors were stumped for five days as to the cause, the New Jersey <em>Star-Ledger</em> reported.

    "It was such a life-altering experience," she told the paper. "I realized it could all be taken away in a moment" She recovered completely after taking antibiotics.




  • George W. Bush


    In 2007, the annual report on the president's health revealed that in August of 2006 <a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2007-08-08/politics/bush.health_1_lyme-disease-scott-stanzel-richard-tubb?_s=PM:POLITICS" target="_hplink">Bush had been treated for Lyme disease</a>. A White House spokesman said the president likely was bitten during a bike ride. He noticed a rash that doctors treated, and he had no other symptoms or any recurrence, according to CNN.

    "I wouldn't expect any problem at all for the president," Gary Wormser, chief of infectious diseases at New York Medical College and an expert on Lyme disease, told the <em>Washington Post</em>. "He won't be <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/08/AR2007080802268.html" target="_hplink">impacted by this infection in the future</a>."




  • Parker Posey


    The actress was <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20300711,00.html" target="_hplink">diagnosed with Lyme disease</a> in 2009. "I had the opportunity to approach it both with conventional medicine (antibiotics) and homeopathic remedies and supplements," she <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/actress-parker-posey-talks-about-her-battle-with-lyme-disease-in-support-of-new-documentary-rethinking-cancer-78212717.html" target="_hplink">said in a statement</a>. "The first round of antibiotics did not destroy all the bacteria and I made a decision not to take them anymore and instead approach it purely holistically -- through the help of my homeopathic doctor who guided me with my diet and gave me the natural supplements to bring my body back to its vitality."




  • Daryl Hall


    Duo Hall and Oates was forced to cancel performances in 2005 when <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2005-07-07-hall-lyme-disease_x.htm" target="_hplink">Hall was diagnosed with Lyme disease</a>, <em>USA Today</em> reported.

    A publicist told E! Online that Hall had the trademark <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/Hall_and_Oates___and_Deer_Tick__/50198" target="_hplink">bull's eye rash and flu-like symptoms</a>. "We are so sorry to disappoint our fans, but we promise to make it up to them," he said in a statement. "This illness made it impossible for me to give my best effort to our audience, but now that it's been identified, I'm looking forward to a complete, quick recovery and to get back out there with John as soon as possible."




  • Amy Tan


    The author most famous for her hit novel "The Joy Luck Club" suffered mysterious hallucinations, confusion, neck and joint pain, numbness and insomnia for more than two years before she was <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20148516,00.html" target="_hplink">diagnosed with Lyme disease</a>.

    By that time, she had consulted 11 different doctors and paid $50,000 in medical bills, <em>People</em> reported. After researching her symptoms on the Internet, Tan told the magazine that everything clicked -- she had taken many hiking trips in parts of California where Lyme disease is common and she even remembered pulling ticks off of her dogs.

    While her symptoms were advanced, her doctor told <em>People</em>, antibiotics helped, and she started a charity organization called Lyme Aid4Kids to help raise awareness for the disease.




  • Alice Walker


    The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet experienced aches and pains and chronic fatigue that she, according to <em>The Guardian</em>, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/jun/23/featuresreviews.guardianreview23" target="_hplink">self-diagnosed as Lyme Disease</a>. She called it a "spiritual transformation" and "frightening," teling Democracy Now! in 2006 that the disease was <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2006/2/13/i_am_a_renegade_an_outlaw" target="_hplink">physically debilitating</a>.




  • Christie Brinkley


    It's not clear if model Brinkley ever had Lyme disease -- but she's certainly taken a strong stance against <em>ticks</em>. In the early '90s she made headlines for raising guinea hens, <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,973245,00.html" target="_hplink">birds thought to eat deer ticks</a>, at her home in East Hampton, New York, according to <em>TIME</em>.

    She reported the <a href="http://articles.philly.com/1990-09-05/news/25877088_1_guinea-hens-lyme-disease-deer-ticks" target="_hplink">deer-tick population had fallen</a> on the grounds around her home since introducing the hens, the <em>Philadehlphia Inquirer</em> reported.




  • Alec Baldwin


    Few details are known about <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/30/nyregion/guest-appearance-by-alec-baldwin-at-a-hamptons-dinner.html" target="_hplink">the actor's Lyme disease</a>, but he told the <em>New York Times</em> that his symptoms are chronic and return annually. "At the same time of year, I get really tired," he told the paper.