2nd case of West Nile Virus found in Windsor Co.

The Vermont Department of Health has notified town health officers that the 2nd case of West Nile Virus disease has been found in Windsor County.

According to Ralph Pace, Ludlow Town health officer, the state monitoring agency noted, “This latest case became ill in mid-July and, similar to the case from earlier in June, has the neuroinvasive form of the disease.”

The state has more than 50 mosquito monitoring pools located throughout the state.  It issued the following report concerning the pool examinations:  “In years past, West Nile virus has been found in all counties throughout Vermont, but so far this year no positive mosquito pools have been detected in the state. We have typically found positive mosquito pools in late summer (August and September) and that is when all of our previous cases of West Nile virus disease have been reported.

“Therefore, it is a bit unusual to have two cases of the disease reported in the same county so early in the summer.  Colleagues at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets have a robust mosquito trapping and testing program in place this summer, and in response to these illnesses, they will likely intensify their efforts in the Windsor County area.”

Additional information will be issued by the Health Dept updating the status of this report. State contact information on this matter is available from:

Bradley J. Tompkins
Infectious Disease Epidemiologist & Program Chief
Enteric, Zoonotic & Vector-Borne Diseases
Division of Health Surveillance
Vermont Department of Health
108 Cherry St., Suite 304
Burlington, VT 05401
Phone: 802-863-7240
E-Mail: Bradley.Tompkins@vermont.gov