Health officials alarmed by unprecedented July spike in West Nile-infected mosquitoes in 2 major cities
The blood-sucking bugs in all seven counties of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area tested positive for the disease, according to the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD).
MMCD ecologists processed nearly 200 mosquito pools and found Culex tarsalis mosquitoes, the species most blamed for spreading the West Nile virus, were "active in some of the highest numbers" ever recorded, according to FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Of 133 pools tested, 34 tested positive for the virus, showing a rate of more than 25% positivity, MMCD reported.
The rate is one of the highest recorded in the month of July, more in line with numbers seen in late August, when mosquito populations wind down.
Positive West Nile virus samples were also found in mosquitoes in other states, including Georgia, where they were confirmed in three different areas of Atlanta.
Though the city is working on coordinating insect control, officials asked residents near affected areas to protect themselves from bites and eliminate standing water to prevent mosquito breeding.
The West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease that can cause encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, according to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
Originating between mosquitoes and birds in Africa and Europe, the virus spread to the U.S. in 1999 when an outbreak in New York sent nearly 60 people to the hospital over two months.
Most of the patients had clinical signs of brain swelling, and seven patients died, according to a report from the National Institutes of Health.
While the disease can be more detrimental to older patients and those with muscle weakness, MDH officials said most people bitten by infected mosquitoes experience either mild symptoms or none at all.
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