BOSTON (AP) – The West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitoes in Boston for the first time this year.
The Boston Public Health Commission announced Tuesday that a mosquito pool in the Roslindale neighborhood tested positive for the virus.
The state Public Health Department said West Nile was first confirmed in the state this season in a mosquito sample collected June 27 in the Berkshire County town of Richmond.
State health officials say there have been no confirmed human cases of West Nile in Massachusetts this year.
West Nile symptoms can include fever and flu-like illness.
Public health officials urge the public to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses by using insect repellant when outdoors, making sure screens are in good condition and ridding their property of standing water where mosquitoes breed.
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