West Nile virus has been detected in Toronto
Batches of mosquitoes tested for the virus in Halton and York this month were also positive
Toronto Public Health has confirmed that a batch of mosquitoes tested for West Nile virus was found to be positive. These are the first cases of the virus in Toronto this summer.
West Nile virus has also been detected in the York and Halton regions this month.
West Nile virus is usually found in urban areas. Mosquitoes carrying it tend to breed in standing water, where mosquitoes can lay eggs. This includes vessels such as pool covers, buckets, planters, toys, bird baths and waste containers, a Toronto Public Health media release said.
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Some who become infected with West Nile virus may be asymptomatic, and some may experience fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, body aches, skin rashes and/or swollen lymph glands. While most with the virus recover fine, others develop severe illnesses affecting the central nervous system.
Symptoms usually develop between two and 14 days after being bit by an infected mosquito.
Toronto Public Health recommends the following precautions:
- Wear light-coloured clothing, long pants and long-sleeved shirts when outdoors; - Apply a Health Canada-approved insect repellent when outdoors, following the manufacturer’s instructions; - Take extra care during peak mosquito-biting hours (dusk and dawn) by using repellent and covering up; - Ensure windows and doors have tight-fitting screens and do not have holes; - Remove standing water from properties, so mosquitoes do not have a place to lay their eggs.
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
