Fraser Health's annual monitoring program for the West Nile virus is now in full gear.
During the mosquito season, it operates mosquito traps throughout the region. The mosquitoes collected are identified and tested at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Dead corvids, which include magpies, crows and ravens, are also being analyzed.
Most people that are infected with West Nile virus through mosquito bites don't experience any symptoms. Approximately 20 per cent will experience mild to severe flu-like symptoms, in most cases lasting three to six days.
Some, though, are very ill for several weeks.
Three years ago, the first confirmed indigenous human case of the virus in B.C. was discovered in Kelowna. That followed the B.C. Centre for Disease Control confirming a mosquito pool sample collected from the south Okanagan had tested positive for the virus.
In 2009, a horse in the Aldergrove area tested positive, but that has been the only confirmed case of infection, so far, in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.
Glen Embree, the health region's manager of health protection, said it's not clear why the virus hasn't made it's way into the Lower Mainland yet, but it's just a matter of time.
"We anticipate it will arrive, but we thought it would have arrived sooner. We're keeping an eye on things with our environmental sampling and still advise people not to provide an environment for mosquitoes," he said.
Embree said a prolonged period of rain in June would likely result in an increase soon in the mosquito population, including the so-called vector mosquitoes that are the most likely to carry West Nile.
"Now that the weather has warmed up, they'll be hatching," he said. "We'll be expecting lots of mosquitoes in the next little while. I've already noticed them around my place.
"We'll see all types of mosquitoes, including vector mosquitoes," Embree added.
Fraser Health notes that anything in your yard that can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes should be eliminated. It's important to empty saucers under flowerpots, unclog rain gutters, empty wading pools when not in use and drain tarps, pool covers and trampolines that fill with rainwater.
As far as exposure to the insects, one tip is to mini-mize outdoor activities at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are the most active. It's also important to protect yourself when outdoors, particularly when near woodlands, forests, ponds, salt marshes and coastal rock pools or other places where mosquitoes might bite any time of day.
The dead bird surveil-lance program relies on public reporting. If you have sighted a dead crow, raven or jay, call 1888WNV-LINE (18889685463).
