Third case of West Nile virus confirmed in Mercer County

The N.J. Department of Health reported Friday that a third case of West Nile virus infection had been confirmed in the state.

All three New Jersey residents who have been infected live in Mercer County, which is home to the University.

During the summer, the mosquito-borne illness swept across much of the country, with nearly 1,300 cases being reported nationwide. None of the 54 virus-related deaths have been in New Jersey.

The number of the state's confirmed human infections is relatively low. In years past, five or six diagnoses would be typical by this time of year.

Though the concentration of cases in Mercer County is odd, Borough Health Officer Bill Hinshillwood said, it should not necessarily be alarming.

"It's hard to evaluate at the moment — whether there is some common source here in Mercer County or if it is just pure coincidence," he said. "There are other people who still have tentative diagnoses in all areas of New Jersey."

Still, Mercer County and Princeton area officials have been hard at work the past several months to combat mosquito populations and eliminate stagnant water in which the insects breed.

Dead crows found in the area, while not hazardous to human health, may also be tested as possible carriers of the virus to alert health officials to the presence of virus-carrying mosquitoes in the region.

Even University ground crews are taking part in the effort, said University sanitarian Don Robasser, who noted that the most significant breeding grounds for mosquitoes in the immediate vicinity are the ponds on the golf course between Forbes College and the Graduate College.

"Ground crews continue to identify low-lying areas [on campus] that might have standing water," he said. "And grounds crew, Public Safety and the athletic department have all been clued in to watch for [dead crows on campus]."

The virus — often initially identified in humans by its severe flu-like symptoms — tends to strike people whose bodily defenses are worn down already, either by age or other illness. In fact, Hinshillwood said, healthy college-aged people might not see any effects from an infection at all.

"West Nile virus, in most younger people, usually does not have any symptoms at all," he said. "Where it becomes serious is in people who are older, or with other underlying health problems, and it is a very serious condition in those cases."

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After its first appearance in the United States, in New York City in 1999, the virus has spread slowly into New Jersey, mainly affecting only the state's northernmost counties. Hinshillwood said the southward development of the virus through the state is likely just part of the national trend.

"[The recent spread] might simply be indicative of the natural progression that we've seen across the country this summer, a natural progression to the south and west," he said.

As for the future of the West Nile virus in the Princeton area, Hinshillwood said it is a problem health officials will probably confront for years to come, even if the number of infections eventually stops rising.

"Once you get an infection of this type in the area, it's not likely that it's just going to die off," he said. "It's likely that it will achieve some sort of level where it will always be there. It's now a matter of making sure to do the best job with mosquito control."