Mosquitoes With West Nile Virus Discovered in Highland Park

Highland Park, IL—Mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus have been found in Highland Park, according to the Lake County Health Department.

The insects that tested positive for the virus were collected June 23, and this is the first confirmed report of the illness-carrying mosquitoes in Lake County this year, the department said.

Highland Park also is the sixth North Shore community to report West Nile-carrying mosquitoes. The other suburbs include Evanston, Skokie, Glenview, Kenilworth and Winnetka.

So far, there only has been one reported case of a human contracting the West Nile virus in 2016. An adolescent in west-central Illinois became seriously ill with the disease in late May.

RELATED: Mosquitoes Carrying West Nile Virus Caught in Winnetka

Last year, Illinois had 77 reported human cases of West Nile virus, and nine people died from the illness, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The state health agency advises people to stay away from areas where mosquitoes breed, such as standing water in flowerpots, bird baths and ponds. Also, residents should use insect repellent with DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR 3535.

Like What You're Reading? Stay Patched In!

• Get News Alerts, Join Facebook Pages and Learn About Patch
• Learn how to create a Patch user account
• Like our Crime page on Facebook
• Live Traffic and Transit Updates