Mosquito with West Nile found in Bolingbrook
(BOLINGBROOK) A mosquito carrying the West Nile virus has been found in Bolingbrook.
The mosquito was taken from a sample from a Will County Health Department monitoring site located east of Route 53, not far from the Bolingbrook Park District's main office on Recreation Drive.
The Health Department operates five monitoring sites across the county and collects samples for analysis from each site on a weekly basis. The mosquito in Bolingbrook was confirmed to have the virus July 27.
Will County is one of at least 15 Illinois jurisdictions to report West Nile activity this year. On July 15, a monitoring site in northern Will County operated by the Illinois Department of Public Health reported the area's first mosquito infected with the virus. Two additional infected mosquitos were collected from the site July 20.
No human cases have been reported in Illinois during 2010, but at least 46 Chicago area mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile since June 22. Cook, DuPage and Kane counties have reported West Nile activity this year.
The DuPage County Health Department says batches of mosquitoes in ten communities have tested positive for the West Nile virus.
The county said Thursday that the communities include Clarendon Hills, Darien, Bloomingdale, Roselle, Elmhurst, Bensenville, Lombard, Warrenville, Wheaton and West Chicago. County health officials say they expected the increase in West Nile positive tests. It's expected to continue.
West Nile is a potentially dangerous infection transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito, Health Department officials said. The virus has accounted for more than 29,150 laboratory-confirmed human infections and at least 1,100 U.S. fatalities since 1999.
There have been 52 laboratory-confirmed human cases and two Will County fatalities reported since 2005.
Illinois monitoring sites similar to those operated by Will County totaled 404 West Nile-positive mosquito samples in 2009. There were seven virus-positive mosquito samples collected in Will County a year ago, including six from monitoring sites operated by Will County Environmental Health.
Mild cases of West Nile may cause a low-grade fever or headache. More acute infections are marked by a rapid onset of high fever with head and body aches, disorientation, tremors, convulsions and in the most severe cases, paralysis or death. If symptoms are present, they usually occur from three to 14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito.
Residents are advised to take precautions like wearing long sleeved clothing and using repellent when outdoors. They also ask residents to drain standing water around homes after recent flooding.
In addition to people, species known to be susceptible to the virus include horses, dogs, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels and domestic rabbits.
Hot dry weather and stagnant water are the two main ingredients prized by the Culex mosquito, the species most commonly associated with the disease. As temperatures rise, the first human cases turn up in July or August.
The Health Department also collects a limited number of perching birds for laboratory analysis. To report dead birds, call the department at 815-740-7631.
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