County confirms first 2015 death related to West Nile virus

A Yonkers man with West Nile Virus is Westchester County’s first human case of the disease for the year.

Hillsborough County Mosquito and Aquatic Weed Control and the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County continue surveillance and prevention efforts.

Laboratory results confirm West Nile virus (WNv) in an adult from Greater Sudbury.

Regular mosquito collections at the sites produced 407 test samples, including 62 that tested West Nile-positive, the health department said. The first confirmed case occurred in 2006. This is because mosquitoes carry high levels of virus at a time when people often relax their precautions.

One case has been reported in Suffolk County so far this year.

A few mosquito bites can transmit West Nile to humans, with mosquitoes picking up the virus by feeding on infected birds. Many infected individuals will not experience illness or may have mild symptoms such as fever, headache and body aches.

State Public Health Veterinarian Catherine Brown says that even as cooler temperatures approach, Massachusetts is still in “peak season” for possible West Nile virus infection. Those mosquitoes were from samples collected in the Elkhart and New Paris areas.

As part of the ongoing monitoring for WNV, Environmental Health routinely collects mosquitoes from several locations around the city.

Check and remove standing water from children’s toys and play houses left outside.

Apply Insect Repellent when Outdoors: Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] or IR3535 according to the instructions on the product label. Keep them outside by having well-fitting screens on all of your windows and doors.