Health Department to spray Pittsburgh's North Side for mosquitoes infected with West Nile

Several neighborhoods on Pittsburgh’s North Side will be sprayed with a nontoxic mosquito pesticide after recent tests in the area confirmed mosquitoes that had the West Nile virus, according to the Allegheny County Health Department.

Areas of Allegheny Center, California-Kirkbride, Perry South, Central North Side and Brighton Heights will be sprayed with the pesticide between 8 and 10 p.m. Wednesday, the health department said. If it rains, the spraying will be done Aug. 16.

People can report areas with stagnant water in those neighborhoods by clicking here.

In late July, the health department sprayed areas of the city’s West End after mosquitoes with West Nile were found there.

There have been four samples of mosquitoes infected with West Nile reported in Pittsburgh. They are the only samples to test positive this year in Allegheny or Westmoreland County, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

No human cases of the disease have been reported in the county since 2018, according to the health department.

The 2018 case involved a man in his 70s who lived in Penn Hills.

Most people infected with West Nile don’t develop symptoms, but 20% of people can develop a fever, headache, body aches, joint pain and other symptoms. Most recover completely, but in less than 1% of cases, people infected with West Nile develop a neurological illness caused by inflammation of the brain, according to the health department.

People who think they may have been infected should seek medical attention, according to the health department.

There have been no human West Nile cases in Pennsylvania this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.