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Ohio Department Of Health Resumes West Nile Virus Testing
By: Associated Press
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The state of Ohio is again testing mosquitoes for West Nile virus after the program became a victim of federal budget cuts last year.
The funding for the Ohio Department of Health program was restored in a mid-cycle budget bill that took effect July 1.
As 80 local health departments have used the suburban Columbus lab. State public health entomologist Richard Gary says that the state lab has received about 36,000 mosquitoes in the past 10 days.
The lab had confirmed a West Nile virus-infected mosquito in Licking County, east of Columbus, this month.
Some cities and counties started their own testing after the program was lost. Gary says having a state lab gives a better picture of the West Nile situation across Ohio.