Mosquito In WilCo Tests Positive For West Nile Virus

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — A mosquito in Williamson County has tested positive for the West Nile virus, county officials said Monday.

The sample was collected in Granger near North Colorado Street and received a positive result Monday. This is the first case of the 2021 season and the earliest occurrence of a positive West Nile sample test since county began testing in 2013, authorities said.

Officials said last year, Williamson County had 17 positive samples, the highest number recorded. Three people also tested positive for the virus in 2020.

Jason Fritz with WCCHD's Integrated Vector Management Program told KUT Austin on Tuesday the recent weeks of heavy rain has brought a large amount of standing water around homes.

Fritz recommends wearing long sleeves and pants outdoors and using an EPA-registered insect repellent when outdoors, especially at dawn and dusk, to keep you and your family safe from mosquito-borne illness.

What is West Nile virus?

West Nile virus is a single-stranded RNA virus that causes West Nile fever. It is primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, mostly species of Culex.

Symptoms of West Nile include fever, headache, body aches, a skin rash on the trunk of the body and swollen lymph nodes. People who are 50 years or older and those with a compromised immune system are at a higher risk for more severe symptoms like stiffness, disorientation, coma, tremors, vision loss, paralysis and, in rare cases, death.