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Mosquitoes trapped in Ontario area test positive for West Nile virus
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The Culex genus mosquito, the carrier of the West Nile virus, is separated from other mosquitos caught in traps.
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Vector control officials say mosquitoes trapped in the Ontario area have tested positive for West Nile virus. It’s the virus’s first appearance in that region this year.
San Bernardino County vector control workers collected the mosquitoes in a flood control basin on the border of Fontana and Ontario. Crews treated the basin and will continue to monitor it. The virus usually peaks in the summertime.
Mosquito bites transmit it to animals and people. The virus can cause severe flu-like symptoms and even death.
Older people tend to be most at risk, but young healthy people can also become sick. California encourages people to participate in its surveillance program by reporting dead birds or squirrels to the state West Nile Virus hotline.
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Vector control officials say surveillance, prevention and treatment efforts have helped keep the virus from spreading as widely as it has in the past.
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