TORONTO – A 68-year-old man infected with West Nile Virus is Toronto’s first confirmed human case of the virus in 2013.
The man was infected in mid-July but recovered at home. He was never admitted to hospital, Toronto Public health said in a press release issued on Friday.
“Now that we have seen our first confirmed case of West Nile Virus, we are entering into the period of greatest risk for contracting West Nile Virus,” Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Toronto’s Associate Medical Officer of Health said.
Related: Why some Canadians are more prone to mosquito bites than others
The risk of being infected with the virus is low, the health agency said, but in 2012 there was 94 human cases of the virus.
Toronto Public Health tests regularly for West Nile Virus through the use of 43 mosquito traps throughout the city. Mosquitos are collected and tested weekly and, to date, only four mosquito pools have contained the virus.
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