West Nile virus found in mosquitoes trapped at 2 Roswell parks, treatments underway
Treatments are underway in Roswell after more mosquitoes trapped in Fulton County have tested positive for West Nile virus.
On Monday, the city of Roswell announced that mosquito traps at Roswell Area Park and Garrard Landing Park tested positive for the virus.
In response to the positive tests, the county's mosquito control contractor treated the area within a quarter-mile radius of the positive traps on Tuesday and expects to do the same on Wednesday. The treatment will last about an hour each night and is safe for people and pets, officials say.
Once the treatment is finished, the Fulton County Board of Health will continue testing to see if there are any additional positive results.
The new positive tests come about a week after the virus was confirmed in insects trapped at four other locations in Fulton County: Orme Park, Frankie Allen Park, Welcome All Park, and Adamsville Regional Health Center. All those locations have been treated.
West Nile virus was first reported in the United States in 1999 in New York, and then gradually spread across the country. It peaked in 2003, when nearly 10,000 cases were reported.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of West Nile virus include fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. Severe illness can affect the central nervous system and result in hospitalization or death.
The CDC recommends using an insect repellent registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, wearing long, loose-fitting shirts and pants so it is harder for mosquitoes to bite your skin, and avoiding being outside between dusk and dawn when the mosquitoes that spread West Nile virus are most active.
