Merrick mosquito pool tests positive for West Nile virus

A mosquito pool in Merrick tested positive last week for the West Nile virus, according to the Nassau County Health Department.

On July 29, the department reported results of a recent countywide testing effort. Among the sites that came up positive were pools in West Hempstead, Valley Stream and Lakeview on July 20, Massapequa Park, Massapeqa Preserve, Wantagh and Merrick on July 21, Glen Cove on July 22, and East Hills, Mineola, Garden City, East Garden City, Westbury and Old Westbury on July 23. The health department does not disclose exact locations of testing pools for security reasons, said Mary Ellen Laurain, a department spokeswoman.

In all, 30 pools have tested positive for West Nile virus in Nassau this summer. One human tested positive.

About 20 percent of people who become infected with West Nile virus will develop West Nile fever, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. Symptoms include fever, headache, tiredness and body aches, occasionally with a skin rash (on the trunk of the body) and swollen lymph glands. While the illness can be as short as a few days, even healthy people have reported being sick for several weeks.

The symptoms of the more severe form of the disease (also called neuroinvasive disease, such as West Nile encephalitis, meningitis or poliomyelitis) include headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis. About 1 in 150 persons infected with the West Nile virus will develop a more severe form of disease, according to the CDC. Serious illness can occur in people of any age, but people over age 50 and some immunocompromised persons (for example, transplant patients) are at the highest risk for becoming severely ill when infected with West Nile virus.