So far, Pennsylvania has found no trace of the exotic form of encephalitis in horses, birds or people. Not so in New Jersey, where a Jersey City man was found last week to be suffering from the disease, and where nearly 500 infected birds have turned up from Mercer and Monmouth counties to the New York border. As the trail of about 1,200 infected birds reached across New York state and into New England, health officials have told people not to worry - but also to be careful about mosquitoes. Wearing long pants and long sleeves when outdoors, especially at dawn and dusk, the peak mosquito times. Getting rid of standing water in the yard in buckets, bird baths, kiddie pools, empty flower pots and pet dishes.
Mosquitoes breed and grow in stagnant water.
Mosquito control crews have waged an aggressive war on mosquito larvae across much of the Northeast this year. The West Nile virus turned up last summer in and around New York City, killing seven people and sickening 62 others in its first appearance in the Western hemisphere. Symptoms, including fever and headache, can lead to disorientation and inflammation of the brain. This year, nine people have been confirmed to have the disease so far, including the Jersey City man and eight people in New York City. Suspected human cases also are being investigated in 10 New Jersey counties, including Burlington, where a crow infected with the disease was found six miles from Philadelphia last year.