The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has confirmed the first mosquitoes to test positive for West Nile virus in Illinois for 2019.  DuPage County Health Department staff collected the positive mosquitoes on May 21st in Wayne, Illinois.  No human cases of West Nile virus have been reported so far this year. The first mosquitoes to test positive for West Nile virus in 2018 were collected on May 25, 2018 in Cook County.  Last year, 74 counties in Illinois reported a West Nile virus positive mosquito batch, bird and/or human case.  IDPH reported 176 human cases (although human cases are underreported), including 17 deaths. Precautions to Fight the Bite include practicing the three “R’s” – reduce, repel, and report.

REDUCE – make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens.  Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings.  Try to keep doors and windows shut.

REPEL – when outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a light-colored, long-sleeved shirt, and apply insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR 3535 according to label instructions.  Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.

REPORT – report locations where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes.  The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito eggs.