Public Service Announcement

Spring cleanup includes West Nile virus protection

SIMCOE MUSKOKA – When you are doing your outside spring cleanup, protect yourself from West Nile virus (WNv) by reducing stagnant water where mosquitoes like to breed. Drain water regularly from old tires, plastic containers, wading pools, wheelbarrows and clogged rain gutters. Change the water in bird baths weekly and put screens on rain barrels to keep mosquitoes out.

For more information about WNv and your health, visit www.simcoemuskokahealth.org or call Your Health Connection at 721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520. Do not call with reports of dead birds. Ontario is no longer conducting dead bird surveillance as information collected over the past few years has confirmed when and where the virus will most likely appear