Thursday, April 25, 2013
Local governments are preparing for the start of a new West Nile Virus season.
It's that time of the year again—mosquito season. Area governments are urging residents to take precautions to avoid West Nile Virus. Both Montgomery and Chester counties have already issued out a release offering residents tips and precautions on the virus. Last year, 60 human cases tested positive in Pennsylvania and four died, according to Pennsylvania's West Nile Virus Control Program. But good news comes to the Southeastern Pennsylvania area: $727,010 in grant money was acquired for West Nile surveillance and prevention this year for Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, and Bucks counties, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. The state's West Nile Virus Surveillance and Control Program offers tips on how to prepare your home …
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
West Nile Virus was recently discovered in Collegeville, Trappe and Upper Providence mosquitoes, where spraying is being performed.
Mosquito spraying will occur in Collegeville, Trappe and Upper Providence tonight between 7:15 pm and 10 pm. The Montgomery County Health Department (MCHD) will perform the non-arial sprays where mosquitoes infected with West Nile Virus were recently found. The boundaries for spraying in Collegeville Borough are East Main St., West 5th Ave. and Avon Ave., east to the borough line. The Trappe Borough boundaries will be Borough Line Rd., North Borough LIne Rd., Linfield Trappe Rd., West Main St. and West 7th Ave. Spraying in Upper Providence Township will be limited to the Perkiomen Woods housing development. Boundary maps can be found in the photo section of this article. Residents can visit the EPA Website to learn more about products …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The Chesco Health Department will spray the northside on Wednesday night.
The Chester County Health Department will conduct a second round of mosquito control treatment in the borough Wednesday night, this time on the northside of Phoenixville. (Click here for a map of the treatment area.) The treatment will be carried out on September 12 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The treatment, which entails the administration of 1.5 ounces of Permanone RTU—a common insecticide—per acre, will be executed with truck-mounted equipment. According to a release from the borough, the application materials pose a very low toxicity risk to mammals and are safe for the environment. This spray is being conducted to cover areas that were not sprayed during the previous treatment in the Phoenixville area on September 6.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The mosquito spraying will take place on September 6 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
With the county’s first human infection of the West Nile Virus confirmed last week, the Chester County Health Department announced it will execute a significant mosquito-spraying project in Phoenixville and the surrounding area on September 6. The treatment, which will take place on Thursday between 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. (with a rain date scheduled for September 7), will involve the administration of Permanone RTU, an insecticide, in two large swaths of Phoenixville, Schuylkill Township, and Charlestown Township. The perimeter of the first spray zone stretches along Nutt Road from County Line Road to Main Street, continues down 29 to Buckwalter Road, carries over to Valley Forge Christian College, goes down Charlestown Road to Hilltop …
Five other Pennsylvania counties also had positive equine tests for the virus, according to a state agency.
Pennsylvania's West Nile Control Program announced Tuesday that it has found six equine cases of West Nile Virus in the state, including one in Chester County. The Chester County horse was located on a farm in West Caln Township, according to Chester County Communications Director Rebecca Brain. No other information about the horse's condition was immediately available. The six counties with positive equine tests for West Nile Virus are: West Nile Virus has been found in mosquitoes in numerous Chester County towns. In July, a 59-year-old West Nottingham Township man became the first county resident since 2008 to be diagnosed with the virus.
Monday, August 27, 2012
The patient was hospitalized and has since recovered.
Editor's note: The information below comes from the Chester County Health Department. According to Betsy Walls, Director of the Bureau of Personal Health Services, the Chester County resident was diagnosed with West Nile Virus after being admitted to the hospital for an unrelated condition. Chester County Health Department Confirms First Human Case of West Nile Virus The Chester County Health Department today confirmed the first human case of West Nile Virus (WNV) for 2012 in a 59 year old male from West Nottingham Township. This is the first report of human WNV infection in Chester County since 2008, and prior to that, 2003. The individual was hospitalized and is now recovered. “The individual has recovered from the infection,” Said …
Sunday, August 26, 2012
West Nile virus has been making headlines locally and nationally, so what does this mean for you? Should you be worried and how does this compare with other diseases?
West Nile virus made national news this week with an announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We're in the midst of one of the largest West Nile virus outbreaks ever seen in the United States,” said Dr. Lyle Petersen on Tuesday, who is the director of the Division of Vector-borne Infectious Diseases at the CDC. We are hearing more about West Nile virus and the cases of the virus being found on our doorstep. Each weekday, the Pennsylvania West Nile Control Program releases more positive test results of West Nile found in mosquitoes, bird and other animals. Within the recent weeks, they’ve been reporting human cases. Friday, the program reported a Philadelphian tested postive for the virus. That human case joins one…
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Number of cases this year highest on record since disease first detected in United States in 1999, federal officials say.
Despite warning and sprayings across the country, the West Nile Virus is the worst ever, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The number of cases so far this year is the highest recorded since the disease was first detected in the United States in 1999, CNN is reporting. As of Aug. 21, 38 states had reported human infections. The cases reported to the CDC total 1,118, including 41 deaths. Mosquitos in Phoenixville have tested positive for the virus and two men in Delaware County were hospitalized after contracting it. Certain mosquito species carry the West Nile virus, which can cause humans to contract West Nile encephalitis, an infection that can result in an inflammation of the brain. According to the Centers for Disease …
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Just days after the first two human cases of West Nile virus were reported, two new patients test positive and these men are from Delaware County.
Two men in Delaware County are hospitalized after testing positive for West Nile virus, according to the Pennsylvania West Nile Virus Control Program. The men, ages 55 and 62, are the third and fourth cases of human West Nile documented this summer. Health officials said that although anyone is at risk, older adults and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk. Last week, a woman from Franklin County and another woman from Lancaster County tested positive for the virus, according to the Pennsylvania West Nile Virus Control Program. State and county officials refused to say where in Delaware County the men are from, citing health information privacy, or HIPAA. “The surveillance program in Pennsylvania is showing higher numbers…
Friday, July 27, 2012
The state DEP found two mosquitos carrying the virus last week.
A pair of Phoenixville mosquitos have tested positive for West Nile Virus, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The mosquitos, nabbed and diagnosed last week as part of the state’s ongoing West Nile Virus Control Program, were among 74 Pennsylvania mosquitos the testing cycle revealed to be infected. Three birds also carried the virus. DEP rep Amanda Witman said that the commonwealth is in the midst of an unusually active West Nile season. Last year at this time 1.22 in every thousand mosquitos carried the virus, while the present ratio is 7.55 per thousand. She said the climate is the culprit. “We had a wet fall, a mid winter that didn’t kill the mosquitos off, then a wet spring and a warm March. It’s a …
Dave Sobczak
7:26 am on Wednesday, September 26, 2012
According to Colorado State University- How far do mosquitoes typically fly? A few kinds of mosquitoes will fly only a few yards from their larval habitat to take a blood meal. More typically adults will fly a mile or two to feed. However, some mosquitoes have been observed to fly 10 miles or more. So spraying this 3 or 4 blocks should keep us all safe. more ›