Placer Mosquito District reports first West Nile–positive mosquito in West Placer; warns Roseville residents about invasive Aedes spread

Megan Lovano, public information officer for the Placer Mosquito & Vector Control District, told the Roseville City Council on June 18 that the district found its first West Nile virus–positive mosquito sample in the West Placer area earlier that day and that invasive Aedes mosquitoes continue to appear in several Roseville neighborhoods.

The district identified the positive sample in a Culex species; Lovano said Culex pipiens and Culex tarsalis both carry West Nile virus and that the detection is the district’s first indication of local circulation this season. She said neighboring Sacramento–Yolo districts have also reported positive mosquito samples in recent days, and that the pattern and the ongoing high temperatures make additional positive detections likely.

Why this matters: West Nile virus is spread locally by Culex mosquitoes; invasive Aedes…