By Karen Kier, Pharmacist
On behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

MEDIA RELEASE_Lacrosse is the oldest team sport in North America. Indigenous men of the Iroquois nation in New York and Canada were known to play lacrosse as a medicine game starting centuries ago. In 1972, the International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Association was formed, with the men’s International Lacrosse Federation starting in 1972.  The two groups merged in 2008.  

In 1904 and 1908, lacrosse was an Olympic sport at both the St. Louis and the London games. Due to the popularity of lacrosse, it is coming back to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles after a 120-year absence.  The Olympics will use the “Sixes” format of the game.

When you hear lacrosse, you think of the game, but in Ohio should think about La Crosse, the virus!

The 2 most common mosquito-borne illnesses in Ohio are La Crosse and West Nile viruses. The La Crosse virus is endemic in Ohio, meaning it is consistently present in our state. La Crosse is not new and was first discovered in brain tissue in 1960 in Wisconsin, but was later tracked in Ohio in 1963. The Ohio Department of Health tracks cases today.

The La Crosse virus is spread by the bite of an eastern treehole mosquito, also known by its scientific name of Aedes triseriatus.  The virus exists in chipmunks and squirrels and the mosquito becomes infected when it bites these animals. Then the mosquito transmits it to humans. The mosquito is mostly seen in the daytime in rural, wooded areas in east-central and southern Ohio. Cases have been reported in Hardin, Hancock, and Allen counties.

Typically, the symptoms are a mild headache, nausea, vomiting, and fever 5 to 15 days after the bite. However, children under the age of 16 years are at a much higher risk of severe disease. Nationwide Children’s Hospital has an informative webpage to alert parents to the dangers of La Crosse in children.

The severe form can cause seizures (convulsions), coma, paralysis, brain damage, and encephalitis.  Encephalitis is an inflammation and swelling of the brain.  There is no specific treatment for La Crosse and there is no vaccine available. The same recommendations for La Crosse are those we use for the West Nile virus.

The West Nile virus is spread by the northern house mosquito (known as the common house mosquito, Culex pipiens). This mosquito carries the virus and can transmit it to both humans and animals via a bite.  

Most individuals who get bitten by a mosquito carrying the West Nile virus do not show signs or symptoms of the disease either. Those with mild disease will often display signs and symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, lack of appetite, and/or a rash. The rash occurs in about 50% of those with symptoms and is usually located on the back, the trunk, or the arms.  The rash is a mixture of red bumps and patches of discolored skin.

Severe West Nile disease is rare, but it can include high fevers, headache, neck stiffness, seizures, disorientation, vision loss, and paralysis.  Those over the age of 60 are at a higher risk of developing symptoms when infected.

For both viruses, the mild symptoms can be treated with over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®). Talk to your pharmacist for product and dosing advice, especially for children and older adults. 

The best treatment for both is preventing a mosquito bite. Recommendations include applying insect repellent to skin and clothes.  Other recommendations include wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants. Covering any open skin with clothing, shoes, socks, or hats is advisable.  Make sure to tuck shirts into pants and pants into socks.  Treating clothes with permethrin is a good preventative measure. Other preventative tips are to reduce standing water where mosquitoes can breed, fix holes in screens, and stay indoors.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website provides an interactive site to find the right bug repellent for mosquitoes. The EPA site indicates several ingredients can protect against mosquitoes, including citronella, DEET, 2-undecanone, p-Methane-3, 8-diol, oil of lemon with eucalyptus, and IR3535. The EPA favors the IR3535 due to its effectiveness and improved safety profile.  IR3535 is the chemical ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate.  

Be prepared for mosquito season, play lacrosse, but do not get La Crosse!