Mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus were found in another Warren County town, bringing the total number of cases in the county up to 13 this year, police announced Thursday.
The Culex mosquitoes were caught on East Baldwin Street in Hackettstown on July 26 in a trap specifically designed to catch them, according to a release from the Hackettstown Police. The Culex mosquito is known to transmit West Nile virus.
West Nile is a virus commonly spread by mosquito bites, which can pass the virus onto birds, animals and people.
The sample collected in Hackettstown was sent to the state Public Health and Environmental Lab in Trenton on July 30, and the results were announced Thursday.
Police said mid to late August is the peak time people and other mammals can be bit and infected by the virus.
However, no New Jersey resident have tested positive for West Nile Virus this year.
As of July 28, 180 mosquito pools from 19 counties had tested positive for West Nile virus, according to the New Jersey Department of Health’s vector-borne surveillance tracker. The only county not to have any positive samples is Passaic County.
Mild West Nile virus symptoms include fever, headache, tiredness, body aches, and swollen lymph glands. While the illness can be as short as a few days, even healthy people have reported being sick for several weeks.
More severe symptoms can include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent.
The infection from the virus can be fatal.
Chris Sheldon may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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