PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - South Dakota health officials say the West Nile virus season is nearing its peak.
The state Health Department reported Thursday that West Nile virus has been detected in humans or mosquitoes in 11 counties across South Dakota.
State epidemiologist Dr. Joshua Clayton says the West Nile season typically peaks during the first part of August, so people are being exposed to the virus now.
Clayton says people exposed today can take up to one to two weeks to develop symptoms.
He encourages South Dakotans to reduce their risk of exposure by applying mosquito repellents to clothes and exposed skin, wearing pants and long sleeves when outdoors, limiting time outdoors from dusk to dawn when mosquitoes are most active, and getting rid of standing water that gives mosquitoes a place to breed.
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Visit the department’s website at westnile.sd.gov for more information.
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