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County's West Nile program funding slashed

JOLIET -- The Will County Health Department's West Nile virus surveillance program faces an uncertain future in the wake of reduced funding provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

State dollars allocated to fund local surveillance have been trimmed by more than 55 percent, said Michael Vollmer, Will County environmental health director. The funding cuts will limit the county's ability to test mosquitoes and monitor dead birds for the presence of West Nile, a potentially fatal infection responsible for 98 Illinois fatalities and more than 1,560 human illnesses statewide since 2002.

"The funding cuts will significantly restrict our ability to operate mosquito-monitoring sites," Vollmer explained. "We also won't be able to monitor bird activity the way we would like, and fewer grant dollars will certainly diminish our ability to respond to service requests. "

A mosquito-borne infection first identified in the United States during the summer of 1999, West Nile has produced 52 human illnesses and two Will County fatalities since 2002. There were three local human cases reported in 2007.

Illinois led the nation with 884 human cases and 67 fatalities during 2002. Will County was one of 29 Illinois jurisdictions to report human virus activity last summer. The state totaled 101 human cases and four fatalities during 2007.

Will County operated 20 mosquito-monitoring sites last summer. The county tested 778 mosquito batches during 2007, an increase of more than 9.7 percent over 2006 levels.

Environmental health will continue to provide larvicide and technical assistance to local units of government looking to supplement their mosquito surveillance initiatives. More than 60 representatives from 16 units of government attended the health department's annual West Nile seminar and larvicide applicator training March 12.