Mosquito in Pope County tests positive for West Nile virus

Another southern Illinois county has been reported to have a mosquito that tested positive for West Nile virus.

On Wednesday, the Southern Seven's Environmental Health Services confirmed the positive case was collected from a mosquito trap set in Pope County.

This is the second positive test for the virus in the seven southernmost counties they serve.

In July, mosquitoes collected in Massac County tested positive for West Nile Virus.

The Southern Seven Health Department set traps in each of their counties in May, and tests them weekly through mid-October.

West Nile-positive mosquitoes have also been reported this year in Gallatin and Saline counties, and one human WNV case was detected in Wayne County east of Mt. Vernon. Other upstate cases have occurred in the St. Louis metro, and four in Chicago. Last year, 70 human cases were reported in Illinois.

The health department said mosquitos pick up the virus by feeding on an infected bird.

The Southern Seven serves Alexander, Hardin, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski and Union counties.


(MAP: location of human cases of West Nile virus in Illinois in 2025)