Health officials confirm the virus was found in Medicine Hat, where mosquitoes under surveillance tested positive.
Dr. Nicholas Bayliss, chief medical officer of health for Alberta explains, "The most effective means of reducing infection is to reduce your risk of being bitten by mosquitoes by using a repellent that contains DEET."
Last year, 10 Albertans were infected, a strong drop from the 275 which were infected in 2003.
According to CanWest news, West Nile was first detected in Alberta in 2003, in only 31 of 1,417 mosquito pools sampled province-wide. The following year, the figure was one in 2,144 pools sampled. In 2005 the figure was one in 636 pools. Alberta's mosquito surveillance program, now in its fourth year, is run by participating municipal authorities and overseen by Alberta Environment. More than 230,000 mosquitoes have been captured, sorted and tested since this year's monitoring began on June 20, 2006.
