Bird tests positive for West Nile virus in Illinois, state’s health department says

Alonzo Small
·2 min read

CHICAGO — Illinois’ Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that a bird has tested positive for the West Nile Virus, the state’s first in 2024.

Douglas County Health Department staff collected the specimen on April 2 in Villa Grove.

“The news of the first bird with West Nile virus so early in the season is a signal for Illinois residents to begin protecting themselves – and their horses – from vector-borne diseases,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “We urge everyone — and especially older people and those with weakened immune systems — to take precautions to protect themselves and their families from mosquitoes and the viruses they carry by wearing insect repellent and eliminating standing water around their home where mosquitoes breed.

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Health officials reminded Illinoisans to prevent West Nile virus by practicing the ‘3 R’s:’

  • Reduce: Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut. Eliminate, or refresh each week, all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires, and any other containers.

  • Repel: When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants, and a light-colored, long-sleeved shirt, and apply an EPA-registered insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR 3535 according to label instructions. The CDC does not recommend use of products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-diol on children under 3 years old. Consult a physician before using repellents on children under 3.

  • Report: Report locations where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week such as roadside ditches, flooded yards, and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito larvae.

IDPH said 67 Illinois counties reported a West Nile virus positive mosquito batch, bird, horse, and/or human case last year, up from 44 counties in 2022.

In 2023, 119 human cases of West Nile virus, of which six resulted in death, were reported.

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