Health officials in Perth County have issued an alert to residents after mosquitoes in a trap in northeast Mitchell tested positive for West Nile virus.
It marks the county’s first positive test of West Nile of the season, the Perth District Health Unit said Tuesday.
Trapping and testing of mosquitoes in Perth County began in June. Roadside catch basins in Stratford, St. Marys, Listowel, and Mitchell have had one round of larvicide applied, with a second round slated for early this month, officials said.
In a brief statement, Perth County’s public health inspector said West Nile activity has been low so far across the province.
“It’s not surprising to see activity begin to increase as historically, we get positive mosquito pools around this time,” said Stephanie Carlisle.
Symptoms of West Nile usually develop between two and 15 days after being bitten, and not everyone bitten will show symptoms, officials said. Those that do will likely see mild illness including fever, headache, body ache, nausea, vomiting and a rash on the chest, stomach or back.
So far this year, four probable or confirmed human cases of West Nile have been reported in the entire province of Ontario.
According to the Middlesex-London Health Unit, Middlesex-London sees an average of 1.7 human cases of West Nile every year. Twenty probable and confirmed cases were reported in the Middlesex-London area between 2000 and 2011, three of them were fatal.
Tips on how to protect yourself from West Nile, and how to help with the prevention of mosquitoes, can be found here.
— With files from Matthew Trevithick
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