Jay has positive test for West Nile

On Friday evening, Jay County Health Department reported mosquitoes in Jay County have tested positive for West Nile Virus.

Residents are encouraged to take precautions, including wearing long sleeves and applying insect repellent, especially from dusk to dawn when mosquitoes are most active. They should also remove any stagnant water, which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes, as well as cleaning clogged gutters.

Jay County is the 40th of the 92 counties in Indiana to report a positive test for West Nile this year. Randolph and Delaware counties have also had positive tests in mosquitoes. There have been human cases of West Nile Virus in DeKalb and Vanderburgh counties. (Jay County was one of the first to show a positive test last year, on June 23.)

West Nile Virus was also found in mosquitoes in Jay County in 2017, '18, '21 and ’22, ’23 and ’24.(Although the disease is most common in the late summer months, West Nile Virus disease can occur any time during the mosquito season, which is typically from May through October in Indiana.)

The health department noted that most who contract West Nile Virus have few or no symptoms, which include headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea and rash. It is transmitted to humans when they are bitten by an infected mosquito.

Residents over 60 years old or with compromised immune systems are at higher risk for severe illness, which can include tremors, encephalitis, coma and paralysis.

For more information, call the health department at (260) 726-8080. Brochures are also available at the health department, 504 W. Arch St., from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.