The Detroit News reports (http://detne.ws/2bZPj00 ) Monday that the positive test was discovered during routine testing by the American Red Cross.
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The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is reminding residents to protect themselves against mosquito bites following the confirmation of a positive West Nile virus mosquito pool in the City of Barrie.
West Nile virus is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito and can cause inflammation and swelling of the brain. The agency will update the maps, part of the city’s three-year $21 million initiative to prevent an outbreak of ZIka virus in NY, on a weekly basis.
“We never spray without a reason, but we can’t get into any specifics about what the reasons are”, said Brian Prendergast, chief of the department’s Mosquito Control section.
The person who contracted the virus had reportedly just returned from Puerto Rico.
While mosquitoes can pass West Nile Virus to humans, horses and other animals, an infected horse can’t spread the disease to other animals. “In Colorado, our mosquitoes are active at dawn and dusk; but in areas with Zika, the mosquitoes are active during the daytime”. Health officials also urge residents to dump standing water where mosquitoes breed.
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Five of the West Nile cases were classified as West Nile fever, and two cases were more serious and required hospitilzation. Primary symptoms of West Nile encephalitis are high fever, headache and confusion, along with muscle aches and weakness and in worst case scenarios seizures or paralysis.
