Cabarrus County residents weigh in as West Nile concerns grow

CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Two residents in Cabarrus County tested positive for West Nile virus on Aug. 14 and Aug. 16.

The positive tests follow the initial detection of the virus in local mosquitoes in early July.

The infected residents are part of a broader presence of the virus in the region.

Within the past month, a person in Gaston County tested positive for the illness, and mosquitoes in Mecklenburg County also tested positive for West Nile virus. North Carolina recorded 19 total cases of the virus last year.

Dr. Nicholas Turner, a physician with Duke Health, noted that while many cases of West Nile virus produce no symptoms, severe complications can arise in rare instances.

“A small number of people, something like one in one hundred or less, get these neurological involvements with the West Nile virus. And that’s where people can get confusion, weakness in part of their body, abnormal movements,” Turner said.

Residents in downtown Kanapolis expressed differing views on the local situation.

Dallas Slade, a Kanapolis resident, expressed caution about the virus. “I’ve heard of it going around. I don’t necessarily know too much. I just know that I don’t really want to, like, catch it, you know?” Slade said.

Jasmine Slade, a Kanapolis resident who works in the health care system, shared a less concerned perspective. “I work in the hospital system, so I know a little bit about it. But I don’t think it has infected too many people, so I think we will be fine,” Jasmine Slade said.

Health experts recommend taking precautions to reduce mosquito exposure, such as wearing long sleeves, long pants, and insect repellent at night.

Removing standing water around homes, where mosquitoes commonly breed, is emphasized, particularly following rainfall.

To help suppress the mosquito population, the Cabarrus Health Alliance is offering mosquito dunks at select locations, which destroy mosquito eggs laid in water.

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