SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Public Health has awarded grants totaling $100,000 to 10 local health departments for surveillance of Culex mosquitoes, which are the primary carriers of the West Nile and St. Louis encephalitis viruses.

Local health departments will use the money to collect and test Culex mosquitoes. The mosquitoes will be collected with a type of trap that selectively samples gravid female house mosquitoes seeking a place to lay their eggs. As mosquitoes descend to lay their eggs, they are swept into a suction apparatus and directed upward into the collection net.

Mosquitoes will be removed from the bag, identified and tested by local health department staff using a commercially-available kit. This will allow local health departments to quickly obtain surveillance data that will help to guide them in informing the public about the risk of West Nile or St. Louis encephalitis virus transmission.

The grant money comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is intended to encourage testing of Culex mosquitoes for West Nile and St. Louis encephalitis viruses in regions where there has been minimal testing. These grants were awarded primarily – more – add 1 based on the geographical location of the county. However, factors such as the number of West Nile virus cases in 2002 also were considered.

Following is a list of grant recipients and amounts:

• Adams County Health Department, $15,000
• Edgar County Health Department, $10,000
• Fulton County Health Department, $10,000
• Kane County Health Department, $10,000
• Macoupin County Health Department, $10,000
• McLean County Health Department, $10,000
• Perry County Health Department, $10,000
• Rock Island County Health Department, $10,000
• Springfield Department of Public Health, $10,000
• St. Clair County Health Department, $5,000

The Culex mosquito, also known as the northern house mosquito, is infected with West Nile or St. Louis encephalitis virus by feeding on infected birds.

West Nile and St. Louis viruses can cause serious disease, such as encephalitis, which is an inflammation of the lining of the brain. Symptoms of the diseases, which usually begin three to 14 days following the bite of an infected mosquito, are similar and range from a slight fever or headache to rapid onset of severe headache, high fever, muscle aches, stiffness in the back of the neck and disorientation.

West Nile virus was identified in 2002 in birds, mosquitoes and/or horses in 100 of the state's 102 counties. There were 884 human cases of West Nile virus illness last year and 62 deaths. A complete listing of West Nile virus cases is available on the Department's Web site at www.idph.state.il.us.

Although there has not been an outbreak of St. Louis encephalitis since 1975, there have been cases in Illinois over the years and it is still considered a health risk.