{"id":854757,"date":"2026-08-12T00:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T00:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/854757\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T00:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T00:34:09","slug":"mosquitoes-bird-horse-test-positive-for-west-nile-virus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/854757\/","title":{"rendered":"Mosquitoes, bird, horse test positive for West Nile virus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>No human cases have been confirmed in region, but positive results are a &#8216;timely reminder&#8217; to take precautions against West Nile virus, warns health unit<\/p>\n<p>NEWS RELEASE<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nSIMCOE MUSKOKA DISTRICT HEALTH UNIT<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n*************************<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nThe Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) is reminding residents to protect themselves against mosquito bites after mosquitoes collected in Barrie tested positive for West Nile virus.<\/p>\n<p>The virus was also recently detected in a bird and a horse in Simcoe Muskoka. Currently, no human cases have been confirmed in Simcoe Muskoka in 2026. However, the positive results are a timely reminder to take precautions against West Nile virus.<\/p>\n<p>West Nile virus circulates between birds and mosquitoes. People can be infected by a mosquito that has fed on an infected bird. The risk is highest in late summer. The health unit recommends these steps to prevent mosquito bites:<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tUse an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/health-canada\/services\/about-pesticides\/insect-repellents.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">insect repellent<\/a> approved for use in Canada and follow the label instructions.&#13;<br \/>\n\tWear light-coloured clothing and cover exposed skin with long sleeves, long pants, socks and a hat when mosquitoes are present.&#13;<br \/>\n\tRemove standing water around your home to reduce mosquito breeding.&#13;<br \/>\n\tMake sure window and door screens are in good condition to keep mosquitoes out.&#13;<\/p>\n<p>Most people infected with West Nile virus do not get sick, but some can become seriously ill. Symptoms can include fever, muscle weakness, a stiff neck, confusion, a severe headache and sensitivity to light. In rare cases, the virus can lead to serious neurological illness. Anyone with symptoms should seek medical care.<\/p>\n<p>The health unit monitors mosquitoes through trapping, testing and larval checks across Simcoe Muskoka during the summer.<\/p>\n<p>For more information about West Nile virus, click\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simcoemuskokahealth.org\/Topics\/InfectiousDiseases\/DiseaseInformation\/FactSheetsSZ\/West-Nile-virus\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>************************<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No human cases have been confirmed in region, but positive results are a &#8216;timely reminder&#8217; to take precautions&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":854758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49,48,84,297262],"class_list":["post-854757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-simcoe-muskoka-district-health-unitwest-nile-virus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/854758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}