In addition to mosquitoes, the CDC also analyzed blood samples taken from 541 house sparrows collected in Bergen, Passaic and Sussex County in late July. No sparrows with WNV were discovered in New Jersey. The WNV positive chicken reported today from Middlesex County is the first chicken from the sentinel program to be found with the virus this year in New Jersey. Equine testing is conducted by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture's animal health laboratory in Trenton and results are sent to NVSL for confirmation. Such measures include spraying insect repellent on their clothing and exposed skin in accordance with labeling directions and wearing long sleeved shirts and pants when outdoors.
Residents can also curb outdoor activities at dawn, dusk and during the evening.
Residents should also eliminate standing water on their own property that can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Windows screens should also be used and kept in good repair. The West Nile virus, an arboviral disease, is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. WNV is not directly transmitted from birds to humans or from person to person. The West Nile virus was first isolated and identified in the Western Hemisphere by the CDC in September 1999 in birds found dead in New York City and Westchester County.