Several Brazos Valley counties have mosquitoes test positive for West Nile virus

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – The West Nile Virus has reached the Brazos Valley. Several counties in the area have had mosquitoes test positive for the virus in recent weeks.

According to the Brazos County Health District, recent rainfall has brought out mosquitos. The health district has been trapping the insects which are then submitted for testing by the Texas Department of State Health Services Arbovirus Laboratory. Here recently there have been six pools that have tested positive in Brazos County, but there was a pool that tested positive at the start of July, that was found in College Station.

Mosquito Surveillance begins each May and goes through the end of October and consists of weekly trappings in both Bryan and College Station.

“There’s an uptake but it’s nothing to be worried about. There are no human cases (In Brazos County) to date so the best thing we can do is go on the preventative side,” said Ashleigh Brand with the Brazos County Health District.

Brazos County isn’t the only place in the Brazos Valley that has seen positive pools. The health district said Leon, Burleson, and Grimes counties have had positive results as well and they are working with county leaders to address it.

“This is definitely an increase in West Nile pools than we have seen, but that is also because we’ve increased our surveillance this year,” Brand said. “We really wanted to be on top of it and we knew there was going to be a lot of rainfall and hurricane activity this season.”

Even Central Texas has seen some positive pools with Bell County seeing six of them. Like with Brazos County, the Bell County Public Health District sets up traps in their area.

Brand said the health department expects things to relatively stay the same through the season with potentially more rain on the way.

“When this weather does come we know what to do. We continue to bump our surveillance and work with the areas that were affected to make sure we’re helping keep down the population of mosquitos as much as we can,” Brand said.

Using DEET to repel the mosquitos and/or emptying standing water can help keep them away.

“The mosquito screens, if you want to open your windows, or if you don’t have electricity so you have to open your windows, best thing is to have screens so they don’t come into your house too,” Brand said.

West Nile symptoms are similar to those of a common cold. If those symptoms progress further it’s best to see a doctor.

Last month, a woman in her 50s in Montgomery County became the first human case of the virus in Texas.