Mosquito batch in Chicago tests positive for West Nile virus

CHICAGO - Health officials in Chicago have confirmed the city’s first West Nile virus-positive mosquito batch of the year.

The city’s Public Health department said it will continue to monitor the area. On its website, the health department listed East Garfield Park as an area with a positive mosquito pool.

No cases of the West Nile virus have been reported in people in Chicago this year.

The health department began is annual mosquito control activities on May 26. About 40,000 catch basins were treated with larvicide which kills immature mosquitoes and is the most effective control strategy.

Mosquito samples also are tested each week from traps placed throughout the city.

West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird.