Mosquito bites can be more than an annoyance. For the unlucky, getting bitten can lead to West Nile virus, a potentially serious illness that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is very likely underdiagnosed and underreported. With West Nile season getting underway, and mosquitoes and birds recently testing positive for the virus from coast to coast, the agency is spreading the word on prevention.

West Nile virus first appeared in the northeastern United States during the summer of 1999, in the New York metropolitan area, and it quickly spread through much of the continental United States. In New Jersey, scientists isolated the virus from humans, birds, horses, gray squirrels, an eastern chipmunk, a striped skunk and bats

In June 2000, the New York State Health Department announced that a pair of crows found in Rockland County, New York, was infected with the virus. That same day, the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services reported that a crow found in Bergen County, New Jersey, had also tested positive for the West Nile virus.

West Nile virus continues to be a cause for concern in this area. West Nile is usually spread by infected mosquitoes, which pick up West Nile by feeding on infected birds and can then transmit the illness to people and animals.  While you can help prevent mosquitoes breeding by eliminating standing water around your home, if there’s an infestation of mosquitoes, call in an expert NJ, NYC pest control company.