HOUSTON – Montgomery County reported the 1st positive West Nile virus case in a person in Texas.
While Harris County has not reported any human cases, 295 mosquito groups, also known as pools, tested positive for West Nile virus as of Friday.
“295 are positive for West Nile virus; if I’m comparing 2023, we only had at this time we only had 6 West Nile virus,” Dr. Maximea Vigilant, the director at the Harris County Mosquito and Vector Control Division said.
This substantial increase in positive cases from 2023 to 2024 is due to a new testing technology, QPCR, used in the mosquito and vector control lab.
Lindsey Lebouf is a virologist at Harris County Mosquito and Vector Control; she showed KPRC 2 a sample of testing.
Lebouf says their old testing would take two days to get results back.
“QPCR tests the virus actual DNA or RNA, so it is five times more sensitive and instead of taking two days, it takes six to eight hours,” Lebouf added.
The Director of Mosquito and Vector Control says it gives a better picture of surveillance across Harris County and helps proactively fight diseases like Zika and West Nile.
When there are positive mosquito reports the County sends out spray trucks to the zip codes that have positive results and sprays 3 times. You can check your zip code to see if there any cases and if your neighborhood is being treated <hyperlink: https://publichealth.harriscountytx.gov/Divisions-Offices/Divisions/Mosquito-Vector-Control-Division>