From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— State health officials have identified the first West Nile virus activity in Wisconsin this year and are warning residents to take precautions against infection by mosquitoes.
The state Department of Health Services today announced mosquitoes collected in Milwaukee County as well as a dead bird in Bayfield County have tested positive for the virus, indicating its presence in the state. No human cases have yet been reported this year.
Rebecca Osborn, a vectorborne disease epidemiologist with DHS, says surveillance of mosquitoes is largely done in southern counties in the state due to resource limitations and a focus on population centers.
While the bird case in Bayfield County suggests it’s circulating in the northern part of the state as well, Osborn said it could pop up elsewhere.
“We would make some assumptions that there is probably West Nile virus circulating in many areas across the state, but we just aren’t able to detect all of it,” she said today during an online call with reporters, adding “it’s a good idea for folks all around the state to take precautions and assume it’s probably in their environment as well.”
When asked about mosquito activity in Wisconsin this summer, Osborn said findings don’t suggest it’s any worse than average, though she cautioned it’s still “very early” in the season.
Since the agency began monitoring the spread of the virus in Wisconsin in 2001, an average of 19 cases have been reported in state residents each year. Most human cases are reported between June and November, though most who get sick report symptoms in August and September, according to DHS.
While most people who become infected don’t get any symptoms, common signs can include fever, chills, headache, muscle ache, rash and fatigue. More severe illness can cause a high fever, muscle weakness, stiff neck, disorientation, confusion, paralysis, seizures and coma.
See more in the release below.
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