Four people in Georgia have tested positive for West Nile virus in 2026. At least eight mosquito traps across DeKalb County have also tested positive as the disease enters peak season.
The Georgia Recorder reported Sept. 10 that the CDC reported four human cases statewide this year. Georgia's Department of Public Health (DPH) said traps in Chatham, DeKalb and Fulton counties have tested positive for the virus.
Locally, the numbers have climbed steadily. DeKalb Public Health first detected West Nile in county mosquito traps on July 22 in ZIP codes 30088 and 30360, near Redan and Doraville. By Aug. 18, a trap in ZIP code 30329, which includes parts of Brookhaven, Chamblee and North Druid Hills, also tested positive, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. As of Aug. 24, eight traps had tested positive across various parts of the county, Fox 5 reported.
No human cases had been confirmed in DeKalb County as of Aug. 24, according to DeKalb Public Health.
Who is most at risk
Most people who contract West Nile never show symptoms. About 20% develop flu-like illness, according to the CDC. A small number develop severe complications affecting the central nervous system, including encephalitis or meningitis, which can be fatal.
Dr. Robin Dretler, an infectious disease specialist at Emory Healthcare and board member with the Infectious Diseases Society of America, told the Georgia Recorder that people over 50, organ transplant recipients and those with cancer or diabetes face the greatest risk of severe illness.
"If you start to get conjunctivitis (pink eye), stiff neck, confused, weakness in the legs, those are signs that you may be going on to one of the severe complications and need to be seen right away," Dretler said.
There is no vaccine for West Nile virus. The disease is not contagious, and most cases can be treated at home with over-the-counter medications, Dretler said.
A DeKalb resident's experience
William Cross, a DeKalb County resident who contracted West Nile in 2012, told WSB-TV in July that his symptoms started with worsening headaches. He spent 10 days at Emory University Hospital on a morphine drip after developing brain swelling.
How to protect yourself
West Nile is spread by Culex mosquitoes, which are most active between dusk and dawn. Elmer Gray, a public health specialist at the University of Georgia who studies mosquito control, told the Georgia Recorder that wearing loose-fitting, light-colored clothing and using EPA-approved insect repellent can reduce bites.
DPH spokesperson Nancy Nydam Shirek said residents should tip out standing water in flowerpots, planters, children's toys, wading pools and buckets after every rainfall or at least once a week.
DeKalb Public Health also places larvicide in storm drains and areas with standing water to kill young mosquitoes. The agency says the treatments do not harm people, pets or the environment.
Residents can contact DeKalb Public Health's Environmental Health division at (404) 508-7900 or visit dekalbpublichealth.com/mosquitocontrol for more information.
