The region’s first case of West Nile Virus is not yet a concern for Iowans. Public-health officials have their public-relations machine in high gear these days warning us to check everything from the screen windows to the muddy puddles, to try and hold this year’s mosquito crop in check. It’s normally later in the summer when the strain of mosquito that carries the West Nile Virus will hatch and start to bite. The Centers for Disease Control recorded 147 human cases in Iowa last year. Birds are considered an indicator species, and the health department’s asked people to send in dead birds they find so tests can pinpoint the start of this year’s infection. But so far the health department’s Kevin Teale says no cases of West Nile have been detected in animal, birds or humans in Iowa — yet.
