West Nile Virus infected mosquitoes trapped in Cathedral City

Mosquitos harboring West Nile Virus (WNV) have been trapped in Cathedral City, according to a Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District news release.

The mosquitos were recovered from traps at two locations in the city; at the intersection of Waverly Drive and Golf Club Drive and at the intersection of Hillcrest Road and Paolo Verde Drive.

This is the first instance of WNV being detected in Cathedral City this year.

“Since June 20, an additional 56 samples of mosquitoes collected from District traps have tested positive for WNV from areas across the valley, two more samples tested positive for St. Louis Encephalitis virus (SLEV),” read a CVMVCD news release. “This brings the total number of samples positiveWNV and SLEV to 224 this year in the Coachella Valley.”

So far this year, virus-positive mosquitoes have been trapped in Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Mecca, Thermal, and Coachella, Indio, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, and North Shore.

Last week, the district announced that the current mosquito population and viral environment could be conducive to “epidemic conditions” when it came to mosquito-borne diseases in the valley this year.