West Nile Virus

DOVER, Del. - Delaware public-health officials are reporting the state's first death this year from the mosquito-borne West Nile virus. Officials said a 76-year-old New Castle woman with West Nile virus infection and several underlying medical conditions died Thursday. They also said tests conducted this week confirmed that an 80-year-old Wilmington woman also contracted the virus, bringing the total this year to three. - AP

Montgomery County on Monday reported the second human infection with West Nile virus in Pennsylvania this year, a 30-year-old woman who lives in Bridgeport. The state's first case - a 69-year-old Philadelphia man - was reported on Aug. 23. No more information was available on either case or on the three infections this year in New Jersey, in Ocean, Essex, and Passaic Counties. Most people infected with the mosquito-borne virus don't get sick. About 20 percent get a fever, a headache, and sometimes a rash; fewer than 1 percent develop a neurological disease that can be fatal.

Seven more crows have fallen victim to West Nile virus in Pennsylvania, all in the Philadelphia area, the state Health Department announced yesterday. So far, no humans in Pennsylvania or New Jersey have tested positive for the viral disease, which is spread by mosquitoes. Three of the crows were found dead within the last two weeks in Northeast Philadelphia, the same area where the state's first infected crow was found several weeks ago, Health Department spokesman Richard McGarvey said.

A 77-year-old Burlington County man is the first New Jersey resident to die this year from the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, authorities said Friday. The death was reported as state and local agencies ramped up efforts to combat the virus, and New Jersey health officials announced that the number of confirmed virus cases had jumped from eight last week to 15. In Pennsylvania, 16 residents have tested positive for the virus; one, an elderly Luzerne County man, died, officials said.

Officials at the Philadelphia Zoo saw the West Nile virus coming their way and started preparing a year and a half ago, senior veterinarian Keith Hinshaw said yesterday. Despite taking precautions such as emptying stillwater moats every week and treating standing water in storm drains, he said, the zoo could not prevent two recent bird deaths. One of the 20 flamingos died on Aug. 30 and one of the 24 Humboldt penguins died on Aug. 31, he said, both infected by mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus from birds such as crows.

On a horse farm that sits on a marshy stretch along the Tuckahoe River in this tiny Cape May County community six miles from Ocean City, authorities have confirmed the first case of the sometimes deadly West Nile virus in South Jersey - in a 6-year-old thoroughbred gelding. Officials said the owners of the dark-brown horse, which had been retired from racing, were devastated by the loss and wished to remain anonymous. The owners declined to speak to reporters swarming their red-barn farm off Marshallville Road yesterday.

Q. If I live in an area where birds or mosquitoes with West Nile virus have been reported and a mosquito bites me, am I likely to get sick? A. No. Even in areas where the virus is circulating, very few mosquitoes are infected . . . . Even if the mosquito is infected, less than one percent of people who get bitten and become infected will get severely ill. The chances you will become severely ill from any one mosquito bite are extremely small....

Philadelphia recorded its second documented case of West Nile virus in a human this year, the state Department of Health reported Wednesday. So far this year, 20 human cases of the illness have been recorded in Pennsylvania, the agency said. Three cases have been reported in Delaware County, and one each in Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties. The case reported Wednesday in Philadelphia involved a man who first had symptoms on July 20. Last month, health officials reported that a Philadelphia woman had the virus.

A Camden County man who died last month tested positive for West Nile virus, authorities said. The victim, identified only as a 76-year-old man, developed headaches and fever Aug. 20, was hospitalized Aug. 25, and died Aug. 30, a representative for the state Department of Health and Senior Services said. He had several underlying medical conditions that may have contributed to his death. His lab results were released Thursday. This year, 11 Garden State residents, including five in South Jersey, have tested positive for the virus, up from three in 2009.

Nearly a third of the state's West Nile Virus Control grants are coming to Southeastern Pennsylvania, where last year 26 people got sick with the virus and two died. Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, and Bucks Counties will receive a total of $727,010 for West Nile surveillance and prevention in 2013, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced Wednesday. Counties begin monitoring for West Nile in early April, but infections in mosquitoes and birds usually are not detected until mid-June.

Camden County officials will take the war on the West Nile virus to the enemy Wednesday evening. As part of efforts to combat the mosquito-borne illness, the Camden County Mosquito Commission will spray pesticides at numerous locations across the county. Three county cases are among at least 22 across the state this year. In Pennsylvania, 20 residents have tested positive for the virus. Camden County workers have been regularly checking several thousand suspected mosquito breeding sites across the county and are now spraying.

A 64-year-old Camden man and a 50-year-old Collingswood woman have been confirmed as the second and third cases of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus in Camden County this year, health officials reported Friday. The county's first case - involving a 42-year-old Voorhees man - was confirmed Sept. 7 to the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services. The three are among at least 22 with West Nile virus in New Jersey; one of the victims, a Burlington County man, died last week.

Philadelphia recorded its second documented case of West Nile virus in a human this year, the state Department of Health reported Wednesday. So far this year, 20 human cases of the illness have been recorded in Pennsylvania, the agency said. Three cases have been reported in Delaware County, and one each in Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties. The case reported Wednesday in Philadelphia involved a man who first had symptoms on July 20. Last month, health officials reported that a Philadelphia woman had the virus.

Question: With all the attention these days to West Nile virus, how safe and effective are citronella candles in dealing with mosquitoes? Answer: Citronella is an oil distilled from the leaves of an Asian grass that's a close cousin of the lemongrass used in Thai cuisine. The word citronella means "lemonlike. " When citronella is used in the usual 3 percent concentration in candles or the 5 percent concentration in incense, the oil burns and gives off a smoke that mosquitoes and other flying insects find rather noxious.

A 77-year-old Burlington County man is the first New Jersey resident to die this year from the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, authorities said Friday. The death was reported as state and local agencies ramped up efforts to combat the virus, and New Jersey health officials announced that the number of confirmed virus cases had jumped from eight last week to 15. In Pennsylvania, 16 residents have tested positive for the virus; one, an elderly Luzerne County man, died, officials said.