Bird tests positive for West Nile Virus in McLean County

Posted on September 19, 2018

 

Mosquito testing
The occasional dip in day and evening temperatures has not removed the risk of contracting West Nile virus according to the McLean County Health Department. (Photo courtesy McLean County Health Department)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – The McLean County Health Department has received notification that a bird from the 61704 zip code in the Bloomington area has tested positive for West Nile virus.

With the goal of protecting and promoting health, staff from the Health Department are going door-to-door to provide West Nile virus prevention information to residences in the surrounding area.

The occasional dip in day and evening temperatures has not removed the risk of contracting West Nile virus. With confirmation of an infected bird in the county, the Health Department reminds residents that avoiding mosquito bites is the best protection from the disease.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…