Mosquitoes Test Positive For West Nile Virus in Evanston

Mosquitoes collected in Evanston tested positive for West Nile Virus on Monday, July 1, according to a release from the city’s health department.

Last year, the first batch of mosquitoes tested positive for West Nile on June 18, the release said. 

The North Shore Mosquito Abatement District has been conducting surveillance for West Nile Virus since mid-April, including lab tests on mosquitoes, dead crows, blue jays, robins and other birds, as well as sick horses and people with West Nile Virus-like symptoms.

The virus is transmitted to humans from the bite of a mosquito that has fed on an infected bird, according to the release. Only about two out of ten people who are bitten by an infected mosquito will experience any illness, the release said. People age 50 or older have the highest risk of severe disease.

"To protect yourself against illness, wear insect repellent and get rid of any stagnant water around your home to reduce the number of mosquitoes," Evanston Health Department Director Evonda Thomas-Smith said in the release.

The department supplied these other tips for avoiding the disease: 

• Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, especially between dusk and dawn.

• When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and apply insect repellent that includes DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR 3535 according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.

• Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut, especially at night.

• Eliminate all sources of standing water that can support mosquito breeding, including water in bird baths, ponds, flower pots, wading pools, old tires and any other receptacles. E-mail NSMAD atnsmad@nsmad.com or call 847-446-9434 to report areas of stagnant water in roadside ditches, flooded yards and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes.