Mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile virus were reported for the first time this year in Maryland. The virus was detected in a mosquito pool in Bowie, Prince George's County, according to a press release from the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
The finding was confirmed by the state's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on August 5, and state workers immediately sprayed the area in Bowie where the mosquitoes were found.
This year, only one human case of the virus has been reported in the state so far, and the person did not even get infected in Maryland. A mosquito bit the person while in Nebraska and came down with the symptoms upon returning to Maryland, The Washington Post reports.
However, detection of mosquitoes positive for the virus is not uncommon in the state at this time of the year.
"We know that West Nile virus may be present throughout Maryland. It typically appears at this time in the summer, so we are not surprised with this positive finding," secretary of Agriculture Joe Bartenfelder said in the press release.
Bartenfelder reminded the residents to take precautionary measures against mosquito bites and to check their own backyards for mosquitoes.
Dr. Michael Zimring, Mercy Medical Center's director for The Center for Wilderness and Travel Medicine, said West Nile virus cases in the state are expected to go up.
"There are very few cases right now, but with our great rainy season, they're bound to be much more," Zimring said, CBS Baltimore reports.
He emphasized the need to remove standing water where mosquitoes can breed. He also urged residents to use mosquito repellents when going outside, saying "about a 30 percent DEET would be ideal."
The West Nile virus is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites. About 70 to 80 percent of people who have the virus show no symptoms, while those who do develop fever, headache, body ache, diarrhea and vomiting, and sometimes rash. In 1 percent of cases, severe symptoms appear, such as encephalitis or meningitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At present, there is no vaccine that can prevent or cure West Nile virus infection.
