Officials warn residents to take precautions

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A mosquito found in the Dufferin Street and St. Clair Avenue West area marks the first instance of West Nile Virus discovered in Toronto this year, according to Toronto Public Health.

Public health investigators announced that the mosquito had tested positive for the potentially deadly disease. The disease is carried by birds, transmitted by mosquito bite and can have grave health effects on humans – up to and including paralysis and death.

No avian or human cases have yet been discovered, but health officials say the discovery that the disease is existing in mosquitoes should remind residents to take precautions.

“The positive mosquito result reinforces the need for the public to take precautions to safeguard themselves from West Nile Virus,” said Toronto’s Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Howard Shapiro.

“Although the overall risk of becoming infected with West Nile Virus is low, anyone can get sick from West Nile Virus and the risk of severe illness increases with age. People with compromised immune systems due to illness or immune suppressing treatments are also at risk of severe illness from West Nile Virus.”

The disease has been a presence in Toronto every summer since it first arrived in 2002.

That year, 11 people died in Toronto as a result of contracting the disease and 166 people fell ill.

While in  subsequent years the numbers were not as dramatic, each year people have become ill with West Nile Virus. And the city’s public health department has maintained a prevention and tracking program.

The department tests birds – particularly crows and blue jays – that have been picked up by animal services at the Wildlife Health Centre in Guelph; it traps mosquitoes throughout the city and tests them; and it also keeps track of human cases of West Nile Virus.

To prevent the spread of the disease, the department identifies sites with stagnant water and treats the water with larvicide to kill mosquito larvae, and does the same with approximately 200,000 roadside storm sewers that hold water and breed mosquitoes.

For residents, the health department recommends using mosquito repellent as approved by Health Canada, and to wear light-coloured clothing and cover up when mosquitos are in the area. Also, residents are asked to remove standing water from areas around their homes in an effort to eliminate breeding sites.