Mosquitoes in Huron Perth test positive for West Nile virus
![West Nile virus A mosquito is pictured. (File photo/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2022/8/26/west-nile-virus-1-6044000-1661538357622.jpeg)
Mosquitoes collected from traps in Stratford and southern Huron County have tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV).
According to Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH), the WNV-positive mosquitoes could be present anywhere in Huron and Perth.
An American crow, known carriers of WNV, also tested positive for WNV in the North Huron area.
Officials with HPPH said it is not surprise to see this in August.
“People are at greatest risk of contracting West Nile virus in late summer, so it is important to protect yourself while outdoors when mosquitoes are most active,” said Senior Public Health Inspector Dale Lyttle.
Public health said it has been trapping and testing mosquitoes across Huron Perth since June 17, as part of its annual surveillance.
Larvicide has been applied to roadside catch basins in Stratford, St. Marys, Listowel and Mitchell this summer to help reduce mosquito breeding and lower the risk of potential WNV transmission.
WNV in humans
There have been three confirmed WNV human cases reported in Ontario this year.
Not everyone bitten by an infected mosquito will show symptoms of WNV.
Symptoms of WNV include fever, headache, body ache, vomiting and rashes.
“About one in 150 people infected will get seriously ill, with symptoms like high fever, muscle weakness, vision loss and coma,” HPPH said, adding that WNV can lead to death.
Those who are above 50-years-old or have a weakened immune system are most at risk.
Symptoms usually develop between two and 15 days after being bitten.
Protecting yourself
HPPH made a list of things you can do to protect yourself against WNV:
- Using an insect repellent containing DEET or Icaridin when outdoors. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions.
- Covering up with light-colored clothes, long sleeves and pants when outdoors or in areas where mosquito activity is high.
- Taking extra protection measures between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.
- Removing standing water around the home at least once a week to reduce mosquito breeding grounds.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.7034404.1726088503!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'Buy nothing': PSAC wants federal workers to boycott downtown Ottawa businesses
A union representing federal employees is asking its members to bring their own lunch to work, in an apparent retaliation against downtown Ottawa businesses as new return-to-office protocols begin.
Actions speak louder: What experts are saying about the body language in the U.S. presidential debate
The highly anticipated debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was a heated matchup. Here's what experts who analyzed the exchange had to say.
Jon Bon Jovi helps talk woman down from ledge on Nashville bridge
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi and a video production assistant persuaded a woman standing on the ledge of a pedestrian bridge in Nashville to come back over the railing to safety.
Inside a Manitoba ghost town, a group of ladies works to keep it alive
Abandoned homes line the streets of Lauder, a town that's now a ghost of what it once was. Yet inside, a small community is thriving.
B.C. family says razor blades found in bag of frozen blueberries
The B.C. parents of an 11-year-old girl said their daughter recently found a package containing razor blades in a bag of Kirkland-brand frozen blueberries.
Langenburg UFO sighting commemorated with silver coin
Perhaps Saskatchewan's most famous encounter with Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP/UFO) – "The Langenburg Event" is now being immortalized in the form of a collective coin.
Taylor Swift wins at MTV Video Music Awards and Chappell Roan gets medieval
Taylor Swift and Post Malone took home the first award at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, for best collaboration, handed to them by Flavor Flav and Olympian Jordan Chiles.
Man, 70, and woman, 71, found shot dead in Montreal apartment, police
Montreal police (SPVM) are investigating after a man, 70, and woman, 71, were killed by gunshot wounds in an apartment.
Tens of thousands in the dark after Hurricane Francine strikes Louisiana with 100 m.p.h. winds
Hurricane Francine struck Louisiana on Wednesday evening as a Category 2 storm that forecasters warned could bring deadly storm surge, widespread flooding and destructive winds on the northern U.S. Gulf Coast.