Today Senator Jake Corman announced that the five counties in the 34 th Senatorial District will each receive state grants to participate in the West Nile Surveillance Program. The Commonwealth has funded this program to partner with counties in Pennsylvania, Corman said. Each County is working with the state to detect and trap mosquitoes. This approach will enable us to track the virus and if needed warn residents of its existence in a particular part of the state. West Nile virus previously only was found in Africa, Eastern Europe and West Asia.
Mosquitoes acquire the virus from infected birds and horses.
Those mosquitoes then transmit the virus to people and other animals. The virus, when transmitted to people, can cause West Nile encephalitis, an infection that can cause an inflammation of the brain. Anyone can get the virus, but older adults and people with compromised immune systems have the highest risk of developing severe illness because their bodies have a harder time fighting off disease. West Nile virus cases occur primarily in the late summer or early fall, although mosquito season is usually April to October.