Local Mosquito Treatments Help Keep West Nile At Bay

Mosquito workers were scheduled to apply adulticides this weekend in Lake in the Hills and Huntley to combat West Nile Virus in the area.  According to the Illinois Department of Health, West Nile's been found 19 times this year in McHenry County mosquito batches including 8 in LITH. It's turned up 59 times in Kane County, almost half in Elgin, Carpentersville and Gilberts.  McHenry County's also seen two West Nile-infected birds reported (Woodstock and Cary) while Kane's had one.

The weekend treatment, the third this year, might be part of the reason there haven't been any human cases reported yet in either county.  There've been 11 in the state so far, 10 of them in Cook, but no Illinois deaths yet.

It's part of the worst year in the U.S. for West Nile since it turned up 13 years ago.  The latest report from the Centers For Disease Control show 693 cases so far, this year with 26 fatalities.  Almost half have been in Texas, though, where Dallas declared a State of Emergency this week.  There've been 10 deaths there, mostly among the late-middle aged or elderly That's the group that seems to be at risk in Illinois, too.  Median age among the state's West Nile victims this year is 59, the youngest a whippersnapper of 47.

To protect against West Nile CDC experts recommend keeping door and window screens repaired and using bug repellent.

In the pic:  Clarke lab workers examine smaples from local collecting stations for mosquito type and contamination.