Publications & Sites 
West Nile case confirmed in Morton Grove
An 81-year-old Morton Grove woman was diagnosed with West Nile virus on Aug. 7. | Sun-Times Media file photo
Updated: August 30, 2012 10:10PM
MORTON GROVE — With a confirmed human case of West Nile virus in Morton Grove the village joins a list that this year includes Skokie, Glenview and Evanston.
An 81-year-old Morton Grove woman was diagnosed with West Nile virus on Aug. 7.
Bonnie Burnett, environmental-health inspector of the village of Morton Grove, said the woman was hospitalized. She suffered a neuroinvasive case (potentially affecting the central-nervous system) of the virus and has since been released from the hospital.
More human cases of West Nile virus have been confirmed this year than the previous year, reported David Zazra, communications manager of the North Shore Mosquito Abatement District.
This year so far Zazra said two neuroinvasive human cases have been reported in Skokie; one human case that was neuroinvasive in Glenview; and one neuroinvasive case in Evanston; and five people with the virus who experienced a fever.
In 2011, Zazra said the district had three human cases, one of which was in Glenview.
The two women who suffered from the virus in Skokie were hospitalized and went to rehabilitation after their release, said Catherine Counard, Health Department director for the village of Skokie. Counard said one was in her 50s and the other in her 70s, both in good health.
“We want to make sure that people are aware,” Burnett said. “They need to be careful.”
The North Shore Mosquito Abatement District has the responsibility of spraying and larviciding, Burnett explained.
Burnett said residents should avoid being outside at dusk and dawn; wear long sleeve pants and shirts; and use Deet insect repellent or Picaradin insect spray.
“Mosquitoes can survive in surprisingly small amounts of water,” said Counard, who encourages residents to dump any standing water.
“This is a very active West Nile virus year again because of the weather,” Burnett said.
