Health Tips: 4 Ways to Avoid West Nile Virus

The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health is scheduled to kick off its annual campaign against the West Nile virus on Wednesday.

Officials have scheduled a late morning news conference to talk about this year's season and provide information on how residents in Coronado and the rest of the county can protect themselves.

The virus became an epidemic across the U.S. last year and hit California hard, but the county was left practically unscathed.

An Escondido man was discovered to have the virus last July, when he donated blood that was screened. And like four out of five people who become infected, he didn't get sick.

A dead crow found in La Jolla last October was the only infected bird found in the county last year.

However, more than 5,400 people were sickened nationwide in 2012, with almost 250 deaths attributed to the disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

About one in 150 people infected with West Nile virus will develop serious symptoms that could prove fatal, according to health experts. The risk is greater for people over 50 or who might have weakened immune systems.

The health department recommends that people:

• Stay in around dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are active.
• Wear long sleeves and pants if they do go out at those times.
• Dump out water in plant saucers, buckets, wheelbarrows or old spare tires where the insects can breed.
• Report dead birds and green swimming pools at abandoned houses.

— City News Service