Jul 31, 2008 11:30 am US/Eastern
West Nile Virus Found in West Roxbury
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
West Nile Virus has been found in West Roxbury.
A mosquito pool tested positive for the disease, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.
Last week, a red-tailed hawk in Jamaica Plain and a bird in Framingham tested positive for the virus.
Both the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services issued advisories last week about West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
In Massachusetts, mosquito pools in Brookline, Worcester and Millbury also tested positive for West Nile Virus this month. The infected mosquitoes were found nearly a month earlier than the first infected bugs last year. The state says there is also a larger than normal mosquito population.
Experts recommend you protect yourself from mosquito bites by using clothing to cover up or applying bug spray. They also say you should get rid of any accumulated water around your yard to prevent more mosquitoes from breeding.
Last year there were six human cases of West Nile Virus in Massachusetts. There were no human cases of EEE, though infected mosquitoes were found.
No mosquito pools in New Hampshire have tested positive for West Nile Virus or EEE this year. Last year in the Granite State three people were diagnosed with EEE; no human cases of West Nile Virus were reported.
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