OSWEGO COUNTY -- Oswego County Health Department says that evidence of West Nile virus was found in Central Square.
Inga Back, Acting Public Health Director of the Oswego County Health Department, said in a release that this is earlier in the year than usual for West Nile to be found.
The Health Department says there are currently no known human cases of West Nile virus in Oswego County. Back said the Health Department was notified late Monday afternoon that the virus was found in mosquitoes collected on July 2 and July 4 in Central Square.
"The virus has already appeared in Onondaga County and is now present in five counties in New York State," says Back. "It is essential that people use insect repellents and continue to be proactive in protecting themselves and their families from mosquito bites."
State Senator Patty Ritchie was in Oswego County Tuesday morning to announce a new tool to help combat the spread of the deadly mosquito-born EEE virus to homeowners and farmers.
Oswego County is taking measures to comeback misquote-born viruses, particularly EEE. The county has enacted a "mark, release, recapture" program to locate where the EEE virus may originate and Oswego City Councilman Eric Van Buren proposed an ordinance that would require abandoned pools to be emptied.
For more information about West Nile or other mosquito-borne viruses, call the Oswego County Health Department at 315-349-3547 or visit the New York State Department of Health web site.
