West Nile virus found in Tacoma mosquitoes, testing to expand in Pierce County

Aug. 28--West Nile virus has been found in mosquitoes west of the Cascades for the first time, and it happened in the Tacoma area, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said Tuesday.

The state Department of Health took a routine mosquito sampling Aug. 14 from the Gog-le-hi-te Wetlands, near the Port of Tacoma.

Test results from that sample were positive for West Nile virus, and the state shared those results with the local health department late last week, the local agency said.

"People should assume West Nile Virus infection is possible in Pierce County and take steps to prevent breeding mosquitoes and avoid mosquito bites," Nigel Turner, director of the local agency's Communicable Disease division, said in a release. "Most importantly, know when to get care if you have been bitten."

According to the local agency:

One mosquito bite is enough to get West Nile virus, but less than 1 percent of people infected will get seriously ill. People 60 and older are at higher risk of that.

The wetlands site is the only place the state tested this year in Pierce County, but now the local health department will temporarily set up five additional sites, and look at options to fund ongoing testing.

The local agency cut its zoonotic program -- which did more monitoring of diseases spread by animals such as mosquitoes -- in 2010 due to decreased funding.

No one has been diagnosed with West Nile virus in the state this year. There have been 231 cases nationally, eight of which were fatal.

Almost every state found the virus in people, birds or mosquitoes last year.

Two people tested positive for the virus in Pierce County in 2006, and birds were found to have it here in 2002, 2008 and 2009.

It can also be a problem for horses. About a third of them who get ill from West Nile die.

A horse in Grant County was diagnosed with it this year.

There's a vaccine for horses, but not for humans.

Tips for avoiding mosquito bites and preventing mosquito breeding include:

-- Draining anything that holds water at least twice a week, such as pet bowls and gutters.

-- Wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, particularly at dawn and dusk, and using mosquito repellent.

-- Using door and window screens that are properly fitted.

Symptoms of the virus, which usually show up two to 14 days after the infected bite, are:

-- Headache

-- Fever

-- Muscle and joint aches

-- Swollen lymph nodes

-- A rash

Anyone with a severe headache, stiff neck or confusion should get medical help, the local heath department said.

Mosquito season usually ends in mid-September.

Alexis Krell: 253-597-8268, @amkrell

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