West Nile virus detected in Franklin Township samples
The West Nile virus has spread into Butler County for the first time this year.
According to a news release from the Mercer County Conservation District, mosquitoes collected from Franklin Township have tested positive for the virus. The district said additional monitoring and control work will be performed in the area where the mosquitoes were collected.
According to the release from the conservation district, no human cases of West Nile virus have been detected so far in Butler County.
The conservation district — which covers Butler, Crawford and Mercer counties through its vector management coalition — urges Franklin Township residents to take extra precautions for the virus, such as using insect repellent, wearing extra-long shirts and pants, and eliminating standing water from around homes and businesses. Standing water provides an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
There is no vaccine or treatment available for West Nile virus. However, only one in 150 people infected with the virus will come down with a severe illness, while about 80% of people infected will not show any symptoms, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Symptoms, for those who show them, may include convulsions, headache, fever, muscle weakness, stiff neck, numbness, stupor, tremors and, in severe cases, blindness, coma and paralysis.
As of Sunday, July 20, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection had put the state’s “skeeter meter” — the risk of West Nile virus mosquito activity — at “high.”
