Six new cases of West Nile Virus have been identified in the province, bringing Manitoba’s total number of human cases up to seven for this year.
Manitoba Health said three new cases were found in the Interlake-Eastern region, two in the Prairie Mountain region and one in Winnipeg.
The first case, discovered earlier this year, was in the Southern Health-Santé Sud region.
So far, said the province, two people have needed to be hospitalized for WNV symptoms.
Despite the season’s relative lack of mosquitoes in most areas, warm and dry conditions are ideal for the Culex tarsalis mosquito, which carries WNV.
Earlier this month, local bug expert Taz Stuart told Global News that people were skipping bug repellent due to the lower mosquito numbers, putting them at greater risk.
“Tarsalis is a very sneaky biter,” Stuart said. “You don’t feel when she bites your wrists and your ankles because she’s a wrist and ankle biter, mostly.”
The province said Culex tarsalis like to feed at dusk and dawn, and the “risk for potential human exposure to WNV is high at present and will likely remain so for the next few weeks.”