DeKalb County officials continue to track West Nile Virus in birds and bugs.
The county currently has four mosquito traps that are monitored weekly. A recent batch near Genoa tested positive for West Nile Virus. Greg Maurice is the Director of Health Protection. He says mosquitos that transmit West Nile Virus prefer hot and dry days. They love stagnant water, and their parting gift can leave you feeling pretty woozy, but is rarely fatal.
“West Nile is endemic, meaning that it’s going to be in the area for the foreseeable future. We know it’s here, it is going to be here, it is just a matter of taking normal precautions that you would against any mosquito or insect bite.”
The department depends on landowners to report dead birds who may have been exposed to West Nile. One found in DeKalb recently tested positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, Illinois health officials have reported dozens of cases of Zika virus statewide.
A different type of mosquito spreads Zika, which can cause birth defects. At this point, Zika has been spread by traveling to countries where the virus is most prevalent.
Maurice says, for now, local officials are trying to learn as much as they can.
“…different ways that it is transmitted, which has more ways to transmit than West Nile. Those are things that we are definitely keeping track of and then based off of that, trying to prepare plans on how we can address Zika in the communities should it become established in a mosquito population in the area.”
The county currently tests mosquito batches for West Nile Virus, but Maurice says they aren’t yet testing them for Zika.
