West Nile discovered in Bloomington

The Monroe County Health Department confirmed the first evidence of the West Nile virus in Monroe County on Monday.\nA community member asked the Health Department to pick up a dead bird found near Rose Hill Cemetery, near the west side of Bloomington, on Aug. 7. The bird was sent to Indianapolis, where the Indiana State Department of Health tested the bird for the West Nile virus.\nThe confirmation of the disease in this community "re-emphasizes" that people should be careful about being outside in the early evening through dawn, Monroe County Health Department Administrator Bob Schmidt said. \n"That's when the mosquitoes are most vicious," he added.\nSchmidt recommended wearing long sleeves, long pants and plenty of mosquito repellent during August, September and October, when mosquitoes are most aggressive. Eliminating stagnant water around homes is another necessary precaution, he said.\nThe very young, very old or physically weak are most at-risk for having serious cases of the virus, but that doesn't imply that college-aged people are risk-free, Schmidt said. \nThe Monroe County Health Department will not send more birds up for testing, he said, but community members should continue to call and report dead birds for tracking purposes. \n"Chances are it's throughout the community. Since it's carried by birds and it's an avian disease, it could certainly be anywhere," Schmidt said.\nAlthough this is the first evidence of the disease in Monroe County, cases of the West Nile virus are actually decreasing from year-to-year throughout the state, he said.