The New Mexico Department of Health is warning residents to take precautions against mosquito bites amid the threat of West Nile virus, a bug-borne disease that has been detected in Bernalillo County.
The agency has not identified any human cases of West Nile virus in New Mexico this year. However, routine monitoring along the Rio Grande by the city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County found mosquitoes that tested positive for the virus.
“While mosquitoes are not currently widespread due to dry conditions, we continue to see them concentrated in wet areas,” said Nick Pederson, Albuquerque’s urban biology division manager, in a statement. “As we enter the monsoon season, we are asking residents to check their yards and neighborhoods for standing water that could become a mosquito breeding source.”…