HOUSTON \u2013 As rain continues to move across the Houston area, health officials are warning that the wet weather is also creating the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.<\/p>\n
The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the first human case of West Nile virus in Texas this year was reported in Harris County.<\/p>\n
According to DSHS, the resident was diagnosed with West Nile neuroinvasive disease \u2014 the most serious form of the virus that can affect the brain and nervous system.<\/p>\n
\u201cWest Nile and other mosquito-borne illnesses are a fact of life in Texas in the warmer months, and all Texans should take precautions against mosquito bites to stay safe and healthy,\u201d DSHS Commissioner Dr. Jennifer Shuford said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Health officials say most people infected with West Nile virus never develop symptoms. However, about 20% can experience what\u2019s known as West Nile fever.<\/p>\n
Common West Nile symptoms include:<\/p>\n
Fever<\/p>\n
Headache<\/p>\n
Body aches<\/p>\n
Fatigue<\/p>\n
Rash<\/p>\n
Less than 1% of infected people develop neuroinvasive disease, which can cause severe neurological complications including:<\/p>\n
Tremors<\/p>\n
Convulsions<\/p>\n
Neck stiffness<\/p>\n
Paralysis<\/p>\n
Disorientation<\/p>\n
State health leaders say preventing mosquito bites is the best way to reduce the risk of infection.<\/p>\n
Affordable ways to protect yourself and your family<\/p>\n
Experts recommend:<\/p>\n
Dumping standing water around your home<\/p>\n
Cleaning clogged gutters<\/p>\n
Emptying buckets, flower pots and kiddie pools<\/p>\n
Keeping pet bowls and bird baths clean<\/p>\n
Wearing long sleeves and pants outdoors<\/p>\n
Using insect repellent with DEET or picaridin<\/p>\n
Repairing window and door screens<\/p>\n
Keeping grass and bushes trimmed<\/p>\n
Mosquitoes are especially active during the early morning and evening hours.<\/p>\n
According to DSHS, Texas has reported 976 total West Nile cases over the last five years, including 106 deaths linked to the virus.<\/p>\n
Officials also warned Texans to continue taking mosquito precautions while traveling internationally, especially to tropical and subtropical regions where illnesses like dengue, chikungunya and Zika are more common.<\/p>\n
More information about mosquito-borne illnesses can be found on the Texas Department of State Health Services website.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 As rain continues to move across the Houston area, health officials are warning that the wet…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302206,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[405,109706,109707,109704,107111,27,8397,29,28,109705,10797],"class_list":["post-302205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-harris-county","tag-houston-mosquito-warning","tag-mosquito-prevention-tips","tag-mosquito-season-texas","tag-mosquitoes","tag-texas","tag-texas-department-of-state-health-services","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-west-nile-symptoms","tag-west-nile-virus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}