Algoma Public Health is warning residents to take precautions against West Nile virus.
The health unit says a wild bird in Wawa recently tested positive for the virus, indicating its "presence...in Algoma and the potential risk to its residents during peak mosquito season", as West Nile is spread to humans through the bite of a mosquito that has been infected by biting a bird carrying the virus - the health unit notes it's not known to spread from person-to-person nor directly from bird-to-person.
While it says the the risk of being infected in Algoma is "low", Algoma Public Health encourages precautions to protect against mosquito bites: wear light-coloured, tightly woven but loose clothing, with long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks, and shoes when outdoors; apply an approved mosquito repellent; avoid the outdoors at dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active; remove standing water from your property, as that's where mosquitoes can breed; and repair or replace screens on windows and doors to avoid mosquitoes entering your home.
The neighbouring Public Health Sudbury and Districts reported last month that an American Crow from the Greater Sudbury area had tested positive, though neither health unit's reported a human case this year.