As public health agencies in the Miami Valley, they are especially concerned about .
The most recent shows that Ohio had the highest number of LAC cases in the country 鈥� with incidences concentrated in the .
Scientists don鈥檛 know why LAC is more prevalent in Ohio than neighboring states and there is currently no cure for it. LAC can cause deadly swelling of the brain (encephalitis) most often in children.
, a professor at Western Carolina University, said that means people must focus on prevention.
鈥淥ne of the challenges that we experience is that most of the time when we respond to a case the parents have never heard of this disease,鈥� Byrd said. 鈥淪o they weren't taking any personal protection measures.鈥�
To protect from LAC, experts recommend wearing and long sleeves and pants and removing any standing water.
At the community level, scientists say public health awareness campaigns and programs that make sure people have properly screened windows in their homes can make a difference.
, an associate professor with The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, said that instead of referring to LAC as an emerging virus, she prefers calling it 鈥渁 neglected virus.鈥� In her view, it hasn鈥檛 gotten the attention it deserves since being discovered in the 1960s.
鈥淪o for me, as a parent, as an entomologist, somebody aware of La Crosse Neuroinvasive Disease, and going into areas where this actually is, we are wearing repellent and treating it pretty seriously as a family,鈥� Trout Fryxell, said.
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