News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

Victoria, BC – British Columbia has confirmed its first indigenous human case of West Nile virus infection, and laboratory tests are underway to determine if another person has been infected as well.

“The confirmed case is a Kelowna resident and the suspected second case lives in the same household. Both people had travelled within the central and south Okanagan areas and reported being bitten by mosquitoes,” said Dr. Paul Hasselback, medical health officer with the Interior Health Authority. “Last week, a mosquito pool sample collected from the south Okanagan tested positive for West Nile virus, and this week two more mosquito pool samples from the South Okanagan have tested positive.”

“The lab test results we’ve obtained on the first person are sufficient to confirm West Nile virus,” said Dr. Muhammad Morshed, program head, Zoonotic Diseases and Emerging Pathogens, at the Provincial Health Services Authority Public Health Microbiology and Reference Laboratory at BCCDC. “We are still testing blood drawn from the second individual.  Given the context, including mosquito positives from the area, we fully expect this case will be confirmed as well.”

 All previously recorded cases of West Nile virus in B.C. have been travel-related, acquired outside the province. B.C. has been anticipating the arrival of West Nile virus for several years, given its spread across Canada and the United States.

“Once again, we would like to reiterate that people can and should take common-sense precautions to protect themselves from mosquito bites in the next few weeks, especially when outdoors,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry, medical director of the Vector-borne Disease Program at BCCDC, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. “This includes wearing light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and long pants – especially in the evenings and early mornings when mosquitoes are most active – and using mosquito repellents that are federally registered, such as those that contain DEET and lemon eucalyptus oil.”

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