Mosquitoes in Toronto test positive for West Nile virus
Toronto Public Health (TPH) confirmed in a Tuesday release that for the first time in 2024, mosquitoes in Toronto have tested positive for West Nile virus.
The virus is transmitted to people through the bite of the infected mosquito.
“TPH conducts mosquito surveillance from mid-June to mid-September every year,” TPH said in a release.
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“Once a week, 22 mosquito traps are set across the city to collect mosquitoes that are then submitted to a laboratory for identification and grouped by the lab into batches to test for WNV.”
Among the Toronto batches were positive cases, TPH confirms.
The health agency says that while the risk of getting infected in Toronto is considered low, the following precautions should still be taken:
- Apply insect repellent as directed by the manufacturer.
- Wear light-coloured clothing, long pants and long-sleeved shirts when outdoors.
- Take extra care at dusk and dawn by using repellent and covering up.
- Make sure homes have tight-fitting screens on windows and doors.
- Remove standing water from properties where mosquitoes can breed. Standing water includes any water that collects in items such as pool covers, buckets, planters, toys and waste containers.
TPH says symptoms of West Nile usually develop between two and 14 days after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito.
Symptoms may include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, body aches, skin rash and swollen lymph glands. Adults 50 years of age or older and individuals with compromised immune systems are at higher risk of severe illness.
