Mosquito Borne Illnesses

The Bastrop County Public Health Department would like to inform the public that, the first Texas case of West Nile illness in 2025 was confirmed recently in a resident of Brazos County, according to public health officials. The Department of State Health Services confirmed the resident was diagnosed with West Nile fever.
Infected mosquitoes transmit West Nile after biting, and although 80% of people exposed to the virus do not get sick, the rest will develop symptoms like fever, nausea, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and sometimes a rash on the torso. Less than one percent of those exposed will suffer from West Nile brain and spinal cord disease, which affects the nervous system and can cause confusion, neck stiffness, shaking, paralysis, convulsions, and even death. Symptoms can develop 2-14 days after exposure, and there are no vaccines to prevent or medicines to treat West Nile in people.
In October 2016, a 13-year-old Bastrop County child died from West Nile virus complications.