West Nile virus found in Roseville, Placer County’s first cases of 2023. Here’s what to know

Place County’s first West Nile virus cases of the year were detected in Roseville this week, the Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District said.

The virus was detected in a sample of dead mosquitoes and a dead bird. They “were collected in western Placer County near the Westpark neighborhood of Roseville,” the district said in a statement Wednesday.

“Annually, at this time of year, we detect West Nile virus circulating in the mosquito population in the county,” district manager Joel Buettner said in a statement. “We encourage residents to wear an EPA-registered repellent to protect themselves from mosquito bites while we enhance our surveillance efforts and schedule treatments to help lower the risk of disease transmission to people.”

The district traps and test mosquitoes every week throughout the summer to evaluate the prevalence of the virus in the mosquito population and the risk it poses to people.

West Nile can be a serious illness that is transmitted through bites from female mosquitoes, the district said.

To prevent bites, people can wear bug repellent. They should also drain any standing water on their property to stop mosquito breeding.

Residents can submit a report on the district’s website if they think they have a persistent mosquito issue.

West Nile activity was recently detected in nearby Yolo County, found last week in Woodland mosquito samples; and this May and June in Sacramento County dead birds and mosquito samples.