A common mosquito. FILE PHOTO
The hot, rainy weather much of Pennsylvania has been experiencing this August has some people cranky but seems to agree with the mosquitoes who call the Commonwealth home, as more and more of them continue to test positive for West Nile virus, per the state’s West Nile control program.
In a news release issued Wednesday, officials said that in their latest round of testing 124 mosquitoes from throughout the state tested positive for West Nile virus, along with two birds.
Three people also were found to have contracted the virus, including one person in York County and two people in Franklin County.
One man in Allegheny County was found to have contracted the virus earlier this summer, which brings the total number of 2018 confirmed human cases in Pennsylvania so far to four.
One of the two birds that was found to be carrying West Nile virus was in Chestnuthill Township, Monroe County. The other avian sample was obtained in Chester Hill, Clearfield County.
No new samples of mosquitoes positive for West Nile were reported in either Northampton or Lehigh counties Aug. 15, however mosquitoes in the city of Bethlehem, the city of Allentown, Upper Saucon Township and other Lehigh Valley municipalities have tested positive this summer.
In the latest round of sampling a number of mosquitoes in Upper Bucks County were found to be carrying West Nile, including mosquitoes in Richland Township, Quakertown borough, Perkasie borough and Sellersville borough.
A map that appears on the Pennsylvania West Nile Virus Control Program website shows the counties in which the virus has been found to date in 2018 (in red) and the counties where it has not been found (in blue). This version of the map is current as of Aug. 15, 2018.
Residents of the area can register to receive email notifications whenever a new list of sampling results is published on the PA West Nile Virus Control Program website.
The virus itself can cause symptoms in humans which include headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea and rash, although most infected people (approximately 80 percent) do not develop symptoms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
In rare cases, West Nile virus can cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord).
The CDC recommends using insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants while outside to help avoid contact with mosquitoes which could be carrying the virus.
Find tips here about what kinds of repellent to use and how to apply it.
The CDC also recommends adopting the following measures to help control the mosquito population in and around your home:
- Use window and door screens and repair any holes in screens to help keep mosquitoes outside.
- Use air conditioning when possible.
- Sleep under a mosquito bed net if air conditioned or screened-in rooms are not available or if you are sleeping outside.
- Mosquitoes lay their eggs near water. Once a week, empty and scrub, turn over, cover or throw away any items that hold standing water, such as tires, buckets, planters, toys, pools, birdbaths, flowerpots and trash containers.
