Hamilton’s Medical Officer of Health (MOH) has bumped up the risk level of contracting West Nile Virus (WMV) in the city from low to moderate after a batch of mosquitoes trapped this week in the city tested positive for the affliction.
It’s the first time this year public health have encountered positive mosquitos in testing this year, and although of low risk to the public, the city’s associate medical officer of health suggests covering up and the removal of standing water from properties to prevent mosquito bites and breeding.
“If you plan to be outdoors, using an insect repellent containing DEET or Icaridin, and wearing loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing will help reduce your risk of being infected,” said Dr. Ninh Tran in a statement on Thursday.
Older adults or those with weakened immune systems may experience West Nile fever and more severe issues including inflammation of the brain or the lining of the brain.
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The MOH says if symptoms do occur, they usually appear two to 14 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
The City says it has recently completed a second round of larviciding treatments on street catch basins and is treating water surfaces on public land in hopes of reducing insect numbers.
Despite the increase in the risk level, the city in recent years has been reporting a decline in positive mosquito pools. After reporting 32 positive pools in 2017, numbers dropped to 13 in 2018, and just four in 2019.
Reported human infection cases have also declined since 2018 when public health reported six cases. That total slipped to just two cases in 2019.
The city has not had a death connected to WNV since 2012, when one person died in a year when 20 human cases were reported.
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