County Health Department Detects West Nile Virus in Joliet Mosquitoes

Will County Health Department officials collected mosquitos last week in Joliet that tested positive for West Nile virus, according to a Chicago Tribune report. 

The insects came from a Will County Health Department monitoring site in southeast Joliet near the department’s office and collected Aug. 9, the article stated. Testing on the mosquitoes was finished Friday of last week, the report said.

. In late June, the Illinois Department of Public Health detected the virus in mosquitoes in Evergreen Park and Oswego.

There have been no human cases of the virus this season. 

West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has been infected with the virus by feeding on an infected bird. Most people with the virus have no clinical symptoms of illness, but some may become ill three to 15 days after the bite of an infected mosquito.

Only about two people in 10 who are bitten by an infected mosquito will experience any illness. Illness from West Nile is usually mild and includes fever, headache and body aches, but serious illness such as encephalitis, meningitis and death are possible.

Residents are asked to take precautions to reduce mosquito breeding sites, including:

• emptying bird baths
• cleaning gutters of debris
• draining pools that are not in use
• make sure no accumulation of rain water