COLUMBUS, Ind. — Mosquitoes collected in Bartholomew County have tested positive for the West Nile Virus, according to the Bartholomew County Health Department.
This is the first time this year that a positive test has been reported in the county. Health department officials said the department will be concentrating its mosquito vector control efforts in the areas where the virus activity was detected.
The health department advises residents to:
- Take special precautions when outdoors between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.
- Use insect repellent containing DEET as directed by the manufacturer’s label
- Make sure your property is free of standing water, which could be breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry the virus. Check flower pots, buckets, old tires and clogged gutters.
- Another place where large numbers of disease-carrying mosquitoes breed is accumulations of sewage water, so homeowners are advised to repair all malfunctioning septic systems discharging to the surface.
West Nile Virus is transmitted to a human by a mosquito that has first bitten an infested bird. A person bitten by an infected mosquito may show symptoms from three to 15 days after the bite.
Most people infected will have either no symptoms or very mild symptoms. A few will develop a more severe form of the disease, encephalitis or meningitis. Symptoms can include a high fever, headache, stiff neck, muscle weakness or paralysis and confusion.
Severe disease is most often present in individuals older than 50 or those with a weakened immune system.
