Naperville traps collect mosquitoes with West Nile virus Suzanne BakerContact ReporterNaperville SunPrivacy Policy ...
Suzanne BakerContact ReporterNaperville SunPrivacy Policy
Mosquitoes caught in traps in Naperville have tested positive for West Nile virus.
Naperville maintains 10 gravid traps designed to attract females of Culex species, which are capable of transmitting the West Nile virus and several strains of encephalitis. Mosquitoes collected weekly in the traps are tested for West Nile virus.
Two of the 10 traps tested positive for the virus this week.
One of the traps, at Sportsman̢۪s Park on West Street near Martin Avenue, tested positive the last two weeks.
Christine Schwartzhoff, operations team leader for the Naperville Public Works Department, said city crews sprayed Sportsman̢۪s Park Friday and will closely monitor the area next week.
Crews also checked for breeding sites and retreated catch basins in the surrounding area, she said.
A second batch in a trap on Woodewind Drive near North Aurora Road and west of Route 59 also tested positive for West Nile virus during the week of July 23, and Schwartzhoff said the city will continue to monitor that area.
About one in five people who are infected develop a fever and other symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About one out of 150 infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, illness.
The CDC advises the best ways to reduce the risk of West Nile virus are by using insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants to prevent mosquito bites.
This week the Will and DuPage county health departments warned that two women â€" a 38-year-old from Aurora and a Wheaton resident in her 50s â€" contracted West Nile virus in early July.
The Aurora victim, who lives in the Will C ounty portion of the city, was diagnosed July 5 when she sought treatment at Rush Copley Medical Center̢۪s Aurora emergency room, a Will County news release said.
Her symptoms, which included severe headaches, fever, nausea, diarrhea, and other conditions common to West Nile, started a week after a trip to the Wisconsin Dells, the release said.
Information from the DuPage County Health Department only noted that the Wheaton woman became ill.
Naperville̢۪s mosquito abatement program begins in May in an attempt to eliminate breeding sites, officials said.
Not only do crews inspect for and remove standing water where possible, the team treats ponds and marsh areas and all catch basins throughout the city where water often collects. The treatment of the 8,000 catch basins throughout the city was completed in June.
Mosquito traps set up by the city and DuPage County not only serve as early warning when adult populations are rising, bu t testing of the batches collected allows the agencies to determine if the mosquitoes are carrying the West Nile virus.
Only as a last resort is community spraying considered.
“That’s the least effective means, which is why we focus on the early stages. Once adult mosquitoes are in the air, they are much harder to get,†Schwartzhoff said.
As for spraying in the heavily wooded Sportsman̢۪s Park, she said the area is contained and can easily be targeted.
People in Naperville help can help prevent the spread of West Nile by draining items that collect standing water around a home, yard or business. Scrubbing and refilling pet water dishes frequently and bird baths regularly.
subaker@tribpub.com
Twitter @SbakerSun
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- West Nile Virus
- Aurora
- Naperville
- Wheaton
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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