Fourteen mosquito samples in Placer County tested positive for West Nile virus on July 13, bringing the count to 26 positive samples this year. Three dead birds have also tested positive.

The county is responding with aerial treatments in the agricultural areas in the western county and ground-based treatments to target smaller areas in the following days. The goal is that adult treatments, combined with a proactive approach to controlling immature mosquitoes can stem the spread of West Nile to other areas in Placer County.

The public is being asked to report dead birds, standing water, or other mosquito issues to the county.

“This increase of activity is not unexpected. With temperatures high enough for mosquitoes to thrive, but not high enough to keep people indoors, we must remind folks that West Nile virus is still a threat and that precautions  need to be taken to reduce risk for exposure,” Joel Buettner, general manager of the Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District, said in a press release.