NATCHEZ — A second case of West Nile Virus in Adams County was confirmed Friday in the area between Airport Road and the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Emergency Management Director Robert Bradford said the health department notified him of the case Friday afternoon. The first case of the mosquito-borne virus in an Adams County resident was confirmed earlier this month in the Morgantown area.

As with the first case, Bradford said the county is working with the City of Natchez to spray the area in a one-mile radius of the affected area Monday.

In the meantime, Bradford recommends residents wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants and use insect repellent outdoors.

Bradford also suggests removing any standing water where mosquitoes may breed. Residents needing standing water treated can call the county road department at 601-304-7997.

Board of Supervisors President Mike Lazarus said the county should seriously consider creating a mosquito-spraying program in the county’s next budget cycle. While the city has a spray program, the county does not.

“We have appropriations for all these different events and things, and I think we really need to think long and hard about appropriating money for a spray program,” Lazarus said.

The Mississippi Department of Health has confirmed 33 West Nile Virus cases in Mississippi. One person has died this year of the mosquito-borne virus in Hinds County, which has had seven instances of West Nile Virus and one confirmation of the Zika virus.

Nearby, Copiah County has had three West Nile Virus confirmations, and Lincoln County has had one.

West Nile Virus is not contagious and is only spread by mosquitoes. Most mosquitoes do not transmit disease.

Persons who are at high risk for serious illness from West Nile Virus are persons 50 or older, very young children or those whose immune systems are suppressed. Healthy children and adults are at very low risk for illness, officials with the Mississippi Department of Health say.

Mild cases of infection might include a slight fever or headache. More severe infections are marked by a rapid onset of high fever with head and body aches, disorientation, tremors, convulsions and in the most severe cases, paralysis or death. Usually symptoms occur from five to 15 days after exposure.

To protect your yard from mosquitoes, the department of health recommends to:

• Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers.
• Remove all discarded tires on your property. Used tires are very significant mosquito breeding sites.
• Drill holes in the bottoms of recycling containers that are kept outdoors.
• Make sure roof gutters drain properly, and clean clogged gutters in the spring and fall.
• Remove leaf debris.
• Turn over plastic wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use.
• Change the water in birdbaths.
• Clean vegetation and debris from edges of ponds.
• Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, outdoor saunas and hot tubs.
• Drain water from pool covers.
• Use landscaping to eliminate standing water that collects on your property.