Mosquito season has arrived but officials don’t know yet how great the West Nile virus threat will be.
As for so many other things, it will all depend on the weather.
Saskatchewan chief medical health officer Ross Findlater said if the weather is like last year Ñ cool and wet Ñ the virus threat could be low.
If it turns out to be like 2003, the threat could be high. Even though there were few mosquitoes that year, they were mainly the species most responsible for spreading West Nile, culex tarsalis.
Read Also
Interest in biological crop inputs continues to grow
It was only a few years ago that interest in alternative methods such as biologicals to boost a crop’s nutrient…
In 2003, there were 947 human cases reported in Saskatchewan, including 63 of the serious West Nile neurological syndrome.
The virus was a contributing factor in six deaths.
Last year, there were five cases of the less serious West Nile fever.
“West Nile did not go away in 2004,” said entomologist Phil Curry. “We saw it in mosquitoes, we saw it in horses and we saw it in birds.”
He will be monitoring mosquito traps in more than 50 communities until fall and will be watching to see how quickly culex tarsalis develops.
Surveillance and testing of dead corvid birds, including crows, ravens, magpies, blue jays and grey jays, began May 15.
Funding is again available to municipalities to help control mosquitoes.
Efforts in Manitoba are similar. Last year, the province reported two cases of West Nile virus fever and one case of the neurological syndrome.
The previous year, there were 142 cases, including 35 cases of the syndrome. Two people died.
Alberta reported just one human case in 2004 and little evidence of the virus in any other species. In 2003, there were 275 human cases; 48 people had the more serious form.
Findlater said anyone who has previously contracted West Nile virus likely has long-lasting immunity but not necessarily for an entire lifetime.
