Mosquitoes Test Positive For West Nile Virus In Batavia

BATAVIA, IL — A batch of mosquitoes trapped in Batavia have tested positive for West Nile Virus.

The sample was taken the week of July 17 from a trap in Batavia, which is monitored by the Kane County Health Department, and is the first batch of mosquitoes to test positive for the virus so far this year. No humans have tested positive yet for virus, according to a news release from the health department.

Public health officials are reminding residents that the virus can be a health threat, especially for people over the age of 50 years old.

Last year, there were 34 human cases of West Nile virus reported in the state and eight deaths. The best way to prevent West Nile Virus disease or any other mosquito-borne illness is to reduce the
number of mosquitoes around your home and to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

You can do this by:

• Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, especially between dusk and dawn.
• Use prevention methods whenever mosquitoes are present.
• When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and apply insect repellent that includes DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus according to label instructions.Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.
• Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut, especially at night.
• Change water in birdbaths weekly. Properly maintain wading pools and stock ornamental ponds with fish. Cover rain barrels with 16-mesh wire screen. In communities where there are organizedmosquito control programs, contact your municipal government to report areas of stagnant water inroadside ditches, flooded yards etc. that may produce mosquitoes.

Additional information about West Nile Virus can be found on the Kane County Health Department’s website.