West Nile Virus confirmed in Tarpon Springs chicken

There were 11 confirmed human cases of West Nile virus in 2014, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Perth Health Unit conducts larvidicing and mosquito trapping and testing to trace the virus, and reduce the risk.

Mosquitoes carrying the dreaded West Nile Virus are propagating in the United States, and recently, a batch of mosquitoes from Bolingbrook in Will County has just been tested positive on Thursday according to the Will County Health Department, which happens to be their first this year. People falling ill due to WNV can suffer from a series of mild symptoms like body aches, headaches, fever, swelling of lymph glands, and/or skin rash. And with, unfortunately, there may also be a rise in West Nile Virus cases over the next several months.

When a person has been infected, he or she might not exhibit any symptoms, but there have also been instances when people got really sick and even died after the poisonous mosquito bite.

Culex pipiens – the common backyard mosquito that is the primary carrier of West Nile – breeds best in water that collects in containers such as catch basins, neglected swimming pools, and bird baths, Henley said.

Additional information about the virus can be found at both the county health departments’ websites on the Illinois Department of Public Health’s website as well.

Limit outdoor activities during dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active. The disease was sporadic until the mid-1990s when an outbreak in Algeria and in Romania resulted in a high number of human cases.

Wear long, loose, light-colored clothing. Keep your screens repaired. When using deet, be sure to read and follow label instructions. Eliminate all sources of standing water on your property, by emptying flower pots, old auto tires, and buckets.

· Drain water from pool covers.

· Turn over plastic wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use.