EDGEWOOD — Northern Kentucky health officials are doubling their mosquito traps after a mosquito pool in Campbell County became the first in Northern Kentucky to test positive for the West Nile virus earlier this week.

        Free larvicide will soon be available to Northern Kentucky residents who want to fight mosquito breeding, the local health department announced Thursday.

WEST NILE FACTS

Less than one percent of mosquitoes carry the virus. Severe illness occurs in less than one percent of people bitten by infected mosquitoes.    Mild symptoms may include slight fever and/or headache. Rapid onset of high fever with head and body aches, neck stiffness, muscle weakness and disorientation marks more severe cases.    Kentucky Public Health site: www.chs.state.ky.us/publichealth    Source: Cabinet for Health Services

        State officials said they are tracking four more potential human cases.

        The virus, which is transmitted by mosquito bite, killed an 84-year-old Union County man on Aug. 19, and another case was confirmed in a 45-year-old Jefferson County woman who recently was released from the hospital, Cabinet for Health Services spokesman Gil Lawson said Thursday.

        Kentucky health officials are awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control of four probable cases of West Nile virus in Jefferson, Union and Barren counties.

        A 79-year-old traveling musician based in Fort Wayne, Ind., who died from encephalitis on Aug. 12 at Bethesda North Hospital, is thought to be Ohio's first West Nile Virus fatality.

        In Northern Kentucky, efforts to track the virus in mosquitoes have been increased from 18 traps in two counties to 36 traps in four counties, now including Grant and Kenton, said Steve Divine, of the Northern Kentucky Independent District Health Department.

        “We want to broaden our coverage area of trapping so we have a better idea of where the virus is present,” Mr. Divine said. “We will continue to trap and test mosquitoes until the weather turns cold and prevents mosquitoes from breeding. This winter we will evaluate our methods to see if we need to make any changes for next year.”

        Results of tests on another batch of mosquitoes collected from traps in Boone, Kenton, Campbell and Grant counties should be known in about 10 days, Mr. Divine said.

        There have been no confirmed cases of the West Nile virus in Northern Kentucky horses.

        Testing of horses in Northern Kentucky is being done through private veterinarians, the health department said.

        In a few days, the Northern Kentucky health department will release information on free larvicide that can be used by the public to kill mosquitoes in their breeding places, said spokeswoman Peggy Patterson. “We will probably develop guidelines as to the areas where we will give it out,” she said.

        In areas where there is standing water, such as ponds, larvicide discs could be placed in the water to eliminate risk, said Public Health Director Gary Crum of the Northern Kentucky health department.

        Kentucky's Cabinet for Health Services recently learned that the commonwealth will receive another $305,970 in federal money to combat the spread of the West Nile virus, Mr. Lawson said.

        Most of the money will be sent to local health departments to help pay for surveillance efforts and to educate people about the virus. Some money will be used for lab equipment to test for the virus.

        Neither state nor local officials could say how much of that will come to Northern Kentucky.

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