For the first time this summer, West Nile Virus has been detected in Rock Island County. The health department says a mosquito carrying the virus was found in a trap in Moline, one of seven traps in the county.
A sanitarian with the department, Sheri Duhme, says late summer is the usual time for West Nile to start showing up here.
West Nile is usually transmitted to humans by mosquitoes who've bitten infected birds.
Duhme says one of the best ways to prevent it from spreading is to eliminate moquito breeding areas at your home.
You can also protect yourself by wearing long pants and long sleeves, and using insect repellant, and not going outside when mosquitoes are the most active - from dusk to dawn.
So far in Illinois this year, four human cases of West Nile have been reported, compared with 77 in all of last year. The peak year in the state was probably 2012 when there were nearly 300 human cases.
