More West Nile virus-positive mosquitos discovered in Mississauga

 

The Region of Peel says that four West Nile virus-positive mosquito pools were discovered in Mississauga during the week of Aug. 9-15, 2020. 

Two positive pools were also discovered in Brampton. 

The region says that no human cases of the virus were reported. 

The region says the adult mosquito surveillance program began on July 2, 2020. As part of the program, adult mosquitoes are collected weekly from mosquito traps at 33 fixed locations throughout the Region of Peel. 

To date, 551 mosquito batches have been tested for West Nile virus and 11 have tested positive.

This week the positive batches were collected in the area of:

Brampton

• Hurontario Street and Highway 407 (Ward 3)
• Queen Street East and Highway 410 (Ward 3)

Mississauga

• Burnhamthorpe Road East and Rathburn Road East (Ward 3)
• Derry Road East & Airport Road (Ward 5)
• Bristol Road W and Creditview Road (Ward 6)
• Dundas Street West and Mississauga Road (Ward 7)

The region says its larviciding program, which involves applying environmentally-friendly products to reduce mosquito larvae in stagnant water, started on June 8, 2020, and will continue until Sept. 30, 2020.

The region says larviciding of catch basins in the green spaces of parks, Peel Living sites, and regional facilities is ongoing. The treatment of surface water sites on public lands is also ongoing. 

As for what residents can do to reduce their risk of contracting the virus, the region says it's important to remove stagnant water on your property and empty or dispose of containers that can hold water, such as old tires, wheelbarrows, barrels, pails, toys and recycling bins. 

Residents should also turn over wading pools, remove water that collects on pool covers and make sure the pool water is circulating.

Residents can also protect themselves from being bitten by avoiding areas with large numbers of mosquitoes, wearing a hat and light-coloured clothing that covers the arms, legs and feet—especially at dusk and dawn—and using insect repellent.

There have been two human cases of West Nile illness (confirmed or probable) reported in Ontario.