4th Sample Tests Positive for West Nile Virus Near L.A. River

A fourth sample collected recently just east of the Los Angeles River in Atwater Village has tested positive for West Nile Virus this week.

According to Truc Dever of the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District, the sample was collected on Aug. 13 from a trap set in the 3700 block of Legion Lane.

It was one of six samples in the district's jurisdiction that tested positive recently.

Three others samples collected this summer at the same location have also tested positive for the virus this summer.

Legion Lane backs up on to the Los Angeles River's concretized sides, just north of the Glendale Boulevard bridge.

Vector Control's Truc says mosquito traps are monitored all year, though additional locations are added in summer.

Dever says a positive result of the test means you probably have infected mosquitos "within a mile radius."

On Aug. 8 an American Crow infected with the virus was found near MacCallen and 1st Street in Echo Park.

There have been no reports of human infections in the area.

According to GLACVCD, West Nile is transmitted to people and animals through a mosquito bite. While there is no cure for West Nile virus, less than one percent of those infected will develop serious symptoms, with about ten percent of THOSE facing death.