A mosquito found in South Whitehall Township tested positive for West Nile Virus Thursday, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection report.
DEP and county West Nile Virus staff respond to these reports with additional mosquito surveillance and control, according to a DEP news release.
West Nile Virus, which is carried by mosquitoes, can cause encephalitis --inflammation of the brain. West Nile was first found in North America in 1999 in New York and in Pennsylvania in 2000, DEP reported. Mosquitoes can pass on the disease to birds and other animals, as well as people.
A mild case of West Nile can manifest itself with flu-like symptons with a fever lasting a few days. The most serious cases cause West Nile encephalitis, West Nile meningitis or West Nile meningoencephalitis.
