The Jefferson County Health Department has found a fifth sample of adult mosquitoes that tested positive for the West Nile Virus this summer in Jefferson County.
The latest positive sample was collected Aug. 13 in Crystal City. The four previous positive samples were collected in Arnold, Kimmswick, Imperial and Cedar Hill.
Terry Hull of the Health Department’s Vector Surveillance and Control Department said this year’s results are consistent with results from previous years.
“We’re about normal,” he said.
While the number of West Nile discoveries are not out of the ordinary, the Health Department still encourages residents throughout the county to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites and to prevent (or at least minimize) population growth in mosquitoes.
Some protection measures include using insect repellent containing 20-50 percent DEET or Picaridin, wearing light-colored clothing and removing standing water sources that can be sites for mosquitoes to lay eggs in such as old tires, cans, buckets, flower pots or pools.
For more information about the Health Department’s mosquito control efforts or to learn more about preventing diseases spread by mosquitoes, contact the Health Department’s Vector Control and Surveillance Program at 636-797-3737, ext. 150.