2 Samples Test Positive For West Nile Virus In Phoenixville

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — A pair of mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile Virus in the borough, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced last week. They are the first positive West Nile Virus samples in Phoenixville recorded this year.

The first positive was one of 11 statewide positives found by the DEP on July 25. Another sample was recorded among a batch of 15 positives on July 27.

Other municipalities with positive tests included Avondale, Easttown, Thornbury, West Chester, West Goshen, and West Whiteland. Numerous positives have also been recorded in Philadelphia, plus several in Bucks and Delaware counties. There have been fewer in Montgomery County this year.

West Nile Virus is nothing new to the Phoenixville area, as it has found in mosquito samples in the surrounding area for years. West Nile Virus typically causes fever but can lead to neurological illness in extremely rare cases. For more details on what residents can do to limit mosquito populations and protect themselves from the virus - such as removing standing water from their property - see here.

While a length of the Schuylkill River has been sprayed twice this summer to limit black fly population, no chemical sprayings for West Nile and mosquitoes have yet been scheduled for the borough.

Patch file photo