West Nile virus detected in Fulton County
HARRISBURG >> Fulton County has recorded its first positive for West Nile virus in three years.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection found that a sample of adult mosquitoes collected on Aug. 20 in Dublin Township contained the virus.
The virus has been found this year in 48 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. Seven people, one in Cumberland County, have battled the illness this season.
All residents of areas where virus activity has been identified are at risk of getting West Nile encephalitis, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. People over 50 years of age have the highest risk of severe disease. Encephalitis is a potentially deadly infection that can result in an inflammation of the brain.
The season is peaking. Certain mosquitoes carry the virus. They switch this time of year from birds, which have begun migrating, to humans for their blood meal.
The previous positive result in Fulton County was in August 2012 when an animal other than a horse or bird tested positive for the virus.
Fulton County does not operate a West Nile surveillance program, and DEP ocassionally takes samples there. An average of 10 mosquito samples a year have been taken there since 2010. The county has had six West Nile positives since 2008.
The Franklin County West Nile surveillance program collected 715 samples of adult mosquitoes this year. Thirty of the 262 samples tested have been positive for West Nile. The positive samples have come from 12 municipalities across the county.
Residents are encouraged to prevent mosquito bites by using insect repellents and by covering up when outside, especially at dusk and dawn. An effective repellent will contain DEET, picaridin or lemon eucalyptus oil. Consult a physician for questions about the use of a repellent on children, as a repellent is not recommended for children younger than 2 months.
They also are urged to help eliminate mosquito breeding areas by disposing of outside containers that hold water, cleaning clogged roof gutters, aerating fishless ornamental ponds, chlorinating swimming pools and turning over plastic wading pools when not in use.
The virus first appeared in 2000 in Pennsylvania. During the epidemic of 2002, at least 60 people in Pennsylvania contracted the virus and nine died. The virus has reappeared seasonally in most Pennsylvania counties.
Jim Hook can be reached at 717-262-4759.