Crow tests positive for West Nile in Peru

The La Salle County Health Department received confirmation that a crow from Peru tested positive for the West Nile virus.

The bird was collected Wednesday. In addition, mosquitoes collected Thursday from Mendota also tested positive. Environmental health staff conducted the confirmatory tests at the health department in Ottawa.

To date in La Salle County, mosquitoes have tested positive June 2 for West Nile in Marseilles, two batches of mosquitoes tested positive June 27 and one Aug. 3 in La Salle; mosquitoes tested positive July 12 in Utica, mosquitoes tested positive July 21 in Ottawa and mosquitoes tested positive Aug. 9 in Peru. A dead crow tested positive for West Nile on July 25 in La Salle.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced the first Illinois human West Nile virus-related death in 2023. Testing by the CDC confirmed the case was West Nile-related. The individual, who was in their 90s and lived in suburban Cook County, had an onset of symptoms in early August and died soon after. The IDPH also is reporting 11 nonfatal cases of West Nile confirmed in humans to date this year.

West Nile is transmitted through the bite of a house mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. Common symptoms include a fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches. Symptoms may last from a few days to a few weeks.

Four out of five people with the West Nile virus will not show any symptoms. In rare cases, severe illness including meningitis and encephalitis or even death can occur. People older than 60 and individuals with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk for severe illness from the West Nile virus.

Monitoring for the West Nile virus includes laboratory tests for mosquito batches, dead crows, blue jays and robins, as well as testing humans with West Nile virus-like symptoms. People who observe a sick or dying crow, blue jay or robin should contact the health department, which will determine whether the bird will be picked up for testing.

Precautions include practicing the three R’s – reduce, repel and report.

Residents should make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens and repair screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut. Eliminate or refresh each week all sources of standing water where mosquitos can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, pet bowls, clogged rain gutters, wading pools, old tires and any other containers.

Residents should wear shoes and socks; long pants; and light-colored, long-sleeved shirts and apply an Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellant that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR 3535 when outdoors. Consult a physician before using repellants on infants.

Residents also should report locations where there’s sitting stagnant water for more than a week, such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, old tires, pools and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito larvae.

Go to www.lasallecountyil.gov for more information on the West Nile virus in La Salle County.