Two positive mosquito tests spark West Nile virus buzz

Summer may be winding down and the peak mosquito season may be coming to an end but the threat of West Nile virus appears on the rise in Greencastle and Putnam County.

Two pools of mosquitoes in the Greencastle area have tested positive for West Nile virus, it was reported Friday by Darrell Brackney, environmental health specialist for the Putnam County Health Department.

They marked the first local positive West Nile virus tests for 2013.

"I got a call from the State Health Department this morning that we have two positives," Brackney said.

"It's been all around us," he added, "so I figured it was just a matter of time."

That's not to mislead anyone that West Nile Virus is prevalent locally. It only means that mosquitoes here have tested positive for the ability to transmit the virus.

Brackney told the Banner Graphic that a mosquito trap near the wastewater treatment plant west of town and another along Veteran Memorial Highway, west of U.S. 231, have tested positive in recent days.

Brackney urged local residents to take precautions such as emptying birdbaths, old tires, cleaning gutters or anything else that might catch water and allow it to stagnate.

Residents should also use mosquito repellant and avoid being out at dusk or later, he suggested.

Persons can also dress to prevent contact with the biting pests.

"The season's probably winding down," he said of peak mosquito activity. "But if you're going to be out at dusk or later, you should spray repellant, wear long sleeves and long pants."

The Indiana State Department of Health has confirmed nearly 50 counties as testing positive for the West Nile virus in Indiana this year.

However, there has been only one human case of West Nile virus contracted in Indiana, occurring in Ripley County, with one equine case in Adams County.

Counties in the Wabash Valley with West Nile virus-infected mosquitoes also include Parke, Sullivan, Vigo, Daviess, Knox and Martin.

The Indiana State Department of Health has collected and tested nearly 120,000 mosquitoes from all 92 counties for West Nile virus.

Individuals who think they may have West Nile should see their health care provider. Once the virus has been detected in mosquitoes, people are at greater risk for infection. West Nile virus is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes that have first bitten an infected bird.

Someone bitten by an infected mosquito may develop symptoms within three to 15 days after getting bitten.

About 20 percent will incur symptoms such as headache, body aches, fever, nausea, vomiting and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. Symptoms may last from several days to several weeks.

For more information, persons may call the Putnam County Health Department at 658-2782.