Worst outbreak of West Nile virus in years

Ontario is headed for one of it’s worst outbreaks of West Nile virus in the last 15 years after more mosquitoes have tested positive this month. The risk of contracting the virus has now jumped from moderate to high.

Health officials are warning people to be careful after more than 250 mosquito pools in Ontario have tested positive for the West Nile virus so far this year. Last week in Hamilton, 15 batches of mosquitoes from ten traps tested positive. The batches were from across the city and not specific to one area.

Hamilton Public Health officials say they’re not sure why so many mosquitoes have tested positive but this spike has prompted them to up the risk of contracting the virus from moderate to high and say people should take the risk seriously.

To protect yourself avoid mosquito areas, cover up and use bug spray and get rid of standing water on your property. Most people who are infected with the virus don’t have any symptoms but older adults and those with weaker immune systems could get West Nile fever or develop more serious conditions like inflammation of the brain.

Because of privacy concerns, Hamilton Public Health won’t say how many human cases of the mosquito-borne virus have been reported so far this year but say it’s five or fewer.