The first mosquito sample to test positive for West Nile virus in Manitoba this season has been found in Morris, Manitoba Health announced.
Manitoba Health is warning that the risk of exposure to West Nile is expected to increase in the coming weeks as hot weather creates ideal breeding conditions for the species of mosquito that carries the virus.
The infected sample was collected on July 7. Manitoba Health officials said in a news release that mosquito numbers during that week were relatively low, but increasing in some areas.
Most mosquitoes found continue to be nuisance mosquitoes, which don’t transmit the virus.
Early info from traps from the week of July 14 show that numbers of the mosquito species that carries the West Nile virus have increased from the week before, especially in south central Manitoba, officials said.
