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NHB Preventive Medicine Takes the Bite out of West Nile Virus

Knowing thy insect vector foe…With West Nile virus the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the United States, Naval Hospital Bremerton’s Preventive Medicine team is undertaking their seasonal surveillance and prevention for West Nile vector control on Navy installations in the Pacific Northwest. “It’s most commonly transmitted via the bite of an infected mosquito. It can cause health issues such as encephalitis - inflammation of the brain - or meningitis, which is inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord, just to name a few. Mosquitos become infected with this virus by feeding on infected birds,” explained Lt. Anurag Sharma, NHB Preventive Medicine department head and environmental health officer (Official Navy photo by Douglas H Stutz, NHB/NMRTC Bremerton public affairs officer).