West Nile Virus Diagnosis in Lexington Woman Follows Aug. 29 Hospital Visit

A Lexington woman who sought medical attention on Aug. 29 has been diagnosed with West Nile Virus, and is improving but remains in the hospital, according to the state Dept. of Public Health.

The woman, between the ages of 45 and 64, was initially believed to have meningitis, but tests confirmed a diagnosis of West Nile Virus, a Dept. of Public Health official confirmed.

A second woman, from Worcester County, developed symptoms on Aug. 19 and has been treated and released from the hospital, according to a press release from the Dept. of Public Health.

Mosquito samples collected in Arlington earlier this summer tested positive for West Nile Virus.

Lexington Health Director Gerard Cody, in a press release from the Lexington Health Division,  said that in the coming weeks the health division will work with the Dept. of Public Health and the Eastern Meiddlesex Mosquito Control Project (EMMCP).

On Friday, EMMCP will set a trap in the location near where the Lexington resident was infected. The trap will be used to determine if any new mosquitoes are emerging. Other areas will be investigated as well, including the catch basins around the Senior Center, and assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, the release says.

Over the next few weeks, the Lexington Health Division will continue to work with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, (MDPH) and the Eastern Middlesex Mosquito Control Project (EMMCP).

Fact sheets on West Nile Virus, including a brochure "Mosquitoes and You" are available at Cary Memorial Library, the police station and the Town Office Building, Cody says. 

More information is available in a pdf version of the Health Division's press release placed on the Lexington town's website today.