Community Corner

West Nile Virus Threat Grows in Kane County

It's not in the Tri-Cities of Batavia, Geneva or St. Charles yet, but it now has been detected in mosquito batches in Algonquin as well as in Aurora.

West Nile virus has been detected in a batch of mosquitoes in Aurora, the Kane County Health Department announced Friday.


Word of the new batch of infected mosquitoes comes a little more than a week after the county announced that an Illinois Department of Public Health trap in Algonquin had some mosquitoes test positive for West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne virus that usually causes only mild ilnness but can be life-threatening.

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No human cases of the disease have been reported in Kane County so far this season, according to the department’s West Nile virus surveillance Web page..

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The Kane County Health Department said earlier that the first evidence of West Nile virus typically manifests in July or August. The department monitors for West Nile virus activity in the area, as well as offers Web pages with helpful information about the virus, how it is spread and steps you can take to prevent it.


As part of its West Nile program, the Kane County Health Department is collecting dead birds to be sent to the state lab for testing. Please call 630-444-3040 to report the presence of freshly dead birds (such as crows or blue jays) to determine if West Nile virus testing is recommended. The birds must not show any signs of decay or trauma.


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