(WTTW, Chicago, Illinois; Aug. 28) – Human cases of the West Nile virus, spread by a bite from an infected mosquito, is typically at its highest in August and September, according to Rebecca Lee Smith, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“When I’m out in my garden, I’m going to be putting on my insect repellent, as much as I hate to do it, just to go out in the garden for half an hour,” Smith said. “I know how important it is. It seems like a low risk. You hear the numbers and you say, ‘Well, that’s not very high,’ but the consequences are so severe if you get a bad case.”