West Nile Virus Season Arrives in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The West Nile virus has been found in Minnesota for the first time this year.

According to the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, mosquitoes collected last week in Scott County tested positive for the virus.

The Star Tribune reports there have been no confirmed cases of residents getting sick with the illness this summer, and dead birds tested by the district also have turned up negative.

The first signs of West Nile virus last year were found at this time, in a mosquito sample collected in Carver County. By late August, 21 cases had been confirmed and one victim had died.

The virus is most common in agriculture areas in western and central Minnesota, but cases are possible anywhere. The virus first arrived in Minnesota about 12 years ago.