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Mosquitoes collected in Bartholomew County have tested positive for the West Nile Virus. This is the first time this year that a positive test has been reported in Bartholomew County. The Health Department will be concentrating their mosquito vector control efforts in the areas the West Nile Virus activity has been detected.

The Health Department is asking citizens to:

Take special precautions when outdoors between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active;

Use insect repellent containing DEET, as directed on the manufacturer's label; and

Make sure your property is free of any standing water, which could be breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry the virus. Check flower pots, buckets, old tires, and clogged gutters.

Another place where large numbers of disease carrying mosquitoes breed is in accumulations of sewage water; so homeowners should repair all malfunctioning septic systems that are discharging to the surface.

West Nile Virus is transmitted to a human by a mosquito that has first bitten an infected bird. A person bitten by an infected mosquito may show symptoms from 3-15 days after the bite.

Most people who get infected with West Nile Virus will have either no symptoms or very mild symptoms. A few individuals will have a more severe form of the disease, encephalitis or meningitis. 

A person with West Nile Virus can have these symptoms; high fever, headache, stiff neck, muscle weakness or paralysis, and confusion. Although the virus has been reported in people ranging in age from nine months to 94 years old, severe disease has been most often present in individuals over 50 years old or those with a weakened immune system.

For more information or inquiries, please call the Bartholomew County Health Department or visit HERE.