Hamilton Public Health (HPH) has confirmed the city’s first case of West Nile virus in a human for 2022, prompting the health officer to raise the city’s risk assessment from moderate to high.
The case now matches the only case the city disclosed in 2021 and continues a trend of at least one case for seven consecutive years.
Of the 22 cases since 2016, six in consecutive years in 2017 and 2018 are the highest number of human cases HPH has had to deal with.
The city has not recorded any deaths from the affliction since monitoring began seven years ago.
City officials brought up the West Nile risk assessment in late July after a batch of mosquitoes caught from a swimming pool tested positive for the condition.
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It was the first set of mosquitoes to test positive for Hamilton this year, prompting the city’s risk assessment to move from low to moderate.
Read more: Hamilton raises West Nile virus risk assessment after batch of mosquitoes tests positive
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Hamilton increases risk assessment for West Nile virus after batch of mosquitoes tested positive
“It’s important to take precautions to avoid insect-borne diseases such as West Nile virus, Lyme disease and Eastern equine encephalitis,” Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Bart Harvey said in a statement.
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He went on to recommend that residents use preventative measures such as using insect repellent containing DEET or icaridin and wearing light, light-colored clothing to reduce risk outdoors.
Harvey says about four out of five people infected with West Nile virus have no symptoms.
Older adults and those with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to symptoms caused by an infection, such as fever, or more serious illnesses, such as inflammation of the brain or the lining of the brain.
Symptoms usually appear two to 14 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
Despite the increased risk, the city overall has seen a decrease in positive mosquito pools since 32 positive pools were reported in 2017.
Through 2022, the city has encountered five confirmed clusters of West Nile virus in its capture initiatives.
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