The Department of Environmental Protection has added the Jamestown Canyon Virus to its West Nile Virus Mosquito Monitoring Program in 2024.

So far this season, West Nile Virus has been detected in mosquitoes in Adams, Allegheny, Beaver, Bucks, Luzerne, Philadelphia and York counties.

Jamestown Canyon Virus has not yet been detected.

Background On Jamestown Canyon Virus

Jamestown Canyon Virus (JCV) is a mosquito-borne orthobunyavirus first identified in Jamestown Canyon, Colorado, in 1961.

JCV is related to other California serogroup orthobunyaviruses, such as La Crosse, Keystone, and Snowshoe hare viruses.

JCV is widely distributed throughout North America and can be transmitted by a variety of mosquito vectors, depending on geographic location and time of year.

Between 2011-2022 there were 281 confirmed JCV infections in the USA that occurred across 23 states, including some western, midwestern, northeastern, and southern states.

Most JCV infections occur from spring to early fall (April through September). There has been one JCV case reported in northeastern PA in 2013.

JCV can cause severe disease, including infection of the brain (encephalitis) or the membranes around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis).

About half of the known JCV disease cases have been hospitalized, but deaths have been rare.

Anyone who is bit by an infected mosquito can be infected with JCV. JCV has been reported in patients of all ages, although most cases have been among adults. It is considered a nationally notifiable disease.

With the ongoing mosquito surveillance program, the Department of Environmental Protection detected the first mosquito pools in Pennsylvania in June 2023 suggesting that JCV is circulating in mosquitoes and human infection is possible.

Signs And Symptoms

Many people infected with JCV do not have any symptoms.

-- JCV may present as a non-specific febrile illness, initial symptoms could include fever, fatigue, or headache. For people with symptoms, the time from mosquito bite to feeling sick (incubation period) ranges from a few days to 2 weeks.

-- Some people reported respiratory symptoms such as cough, sore throat, or runny nose.

-- Symptoms of severe disease can include encephalitis or meningitis with possible stiff neck, confusion, loss of coordination, difficulty speaking, and seizures.

Click Here for a Department of Health fact sheet on the Jamestown Canyon Virus.

Visit DEP’s West Nile Virus Mosquito Monitoring Program webpage to learn more.

NewsClip:

-- Post-Gazette: West Nile Virus Detected In Allegheny County Mosquitoes For First Time This Year

[Posted: June 1, 2024]

6/3/2024