A batch of mosquitoes collected near Genoa has tested positive for West Nile Virus.
This is the first time this year a DeKalb County Health Department mosquito trap has yielded a positive test for West Nile.
West Nile virus transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird.
Health officials say that mosquitoes which carry West Nile virus breed in stagnant water, like street catch basins and ditches, and multiply rapidly.
Most people with the virus have no clinical symptoms of illness, but some may become ill three to 14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito.
Illness from West Nile is usually mild and includes fever, headache and body aches, but serious illness, such as encephalitis and meningitis, and death are possible.
Persons older than 50 years of age have the highest risk of severe disease.
