Hamilton’s medical officer of health says the risk of contracting West Nile Virus has increased after a batch of mosquitoes trapped this week tested positive for the affliction.
It’s the first set of mosquitos to be positive for Hamilton this year, prompting the city’s risk assessment to move to moderate from low.
“In the warmer months it is important to take precautions to avoid illnesses spread by insects including West Nile Virus and Lyme disease,” associate medical officer of health Dr. Bart Harvey said in a release.
“Employing simple preventive measures such as using insect repellent containing DEET or Icaridin, and wearing loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing will reduce your risk while you enjoy the outdoors.”
Harvey says about four out of five people infected with West Nile Virus have no symptoms.
Older adults or those with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to symptoms brought on by an infection including fever or more severe illnesses including inflammation of the brain or the lining of the brain.
Typically, symptoms appear two to 14 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
Despite the increase in risk, the city has generally seen a decline in positive mosquito pools since reporting 32 positive pools in 2017.
Over the last two years, the numbers dropped to 11 in 2020 and to seven in 2021.
Reported human infections were six in 2018, two cases in 2019 and 2020, with just one in 2021.
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.