Often, the victims are elderly or otherwise more vulnerable to the virus.
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“We’ll be doing some additional trapping in that area to see if we pick up anything”, he said.
The county’s last human case of the virus was in 2012 when a person contracted the virus while out of state, public health officials said.
Some mosquito bites can transmit West Nile to humans, with mosquitoes picking up the virus by feeding on infected birds.
“Although mosquito populations are declining, the detection of EEE virus requires continued monitoring”, said Philip Armstrong, medical entomologist at the experiment station.
Each year, Alberta Health conducts passive surveillance for West Nile in humans through public health laboratories and Canadian Blood Services.
Although Zika has been in the headlines, West Nile is more unsafe for people here. Try to keep doors and windows shut, especially at night.
“People are more vigilant about their backyards and habitats”, says Seymore.
“We think this type of mosquito is going into a kind of hibernation – or diapause”, said Michael Kimball, manager of Sutter-Yuba Vector Control.
In 2015 there was only one confirmed case. “The risk of infection will continue until frost and cold temperatures stop mosquito breeding”.
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The department said most people who become infected don’t show any symptoms, about 20 percent may experience fever, headache, body aches, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea or rash. There have also been a number of people infected with the virus experienced mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.
