MIDLAND, ON — Mosquito traps serve an important role in detecting West Nile virus in Midland County.
“So we set out these mosquito traps throughout Midland County to try and catch mosquitoes that might be carrying West Nile and other mosquito-born diseases, with the goal of trapping them, catching them and sending them to the state lab in Austin where they’ll test them and see if they’re carrying any viruses,” said Tyler Collins, epidemiologist for the City of Midland.
But have there been any cases of West Nile in Midland County this year?
“So far this year we have not had any cases of West Nile reported to us from Midland County residents,” said Collins.
As far as symptoms go, Collins said that there isn’t really much to look out for.
“So most people actually will never know that they caught West Nile if they had it," said Collins. "80% of people will never show symptoms. For those other people that do show symptoms, they’ll be relatively minor; a fever, a headache, body aches.”
But there is one thing that is very important when trying to protect yourself from mosquitoes.
“I mean, I think the biggest thing is that it’s not something that most people need to be too concerned with," said Collins. "Something to be aware of, nobody likes to be bitten by mosquitoes, and so wear bug spray.”