Jamestown Canyon Virus detected in neighboring county

WOODCOCK TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WKBN) – Health officials in Crawford County are keeping tabs on a virus detected in mosquitos there.

The Mercer County Conservation District announced Monday that Jamestown Canyon Virus (JCV) has been detected in mosquitos from Woodcock Township.

The virus spreads to humans by a mosquito bite.

Detection doesn’t mean an immediate or widespread threat. This is the first detection in Crawford County for 2024. More sampling will be conducted.

Businesses and residents in Woodcock Township are urged to take extra precautions, such as applying insect repellant and wearing long sleeves and pants when outdoors during dusk and dawn.

Neighbors are also encouraged to remove bird baths, discarded tires or any other container that retains standing water.

No human cases have been reported, and most people don’t develop symptoms. Some could develop the following:

• JCV may present as a non-specific febrile illness, initial symptoms could include fever, fatigue or a headache. For people with symptoms, the time from mosquito bite to feeling sick (incubation period) ranges from a few days to 2 weeks.
• Some people reported respiratory symptoms such as cough, sore throat or a runny nose.
• Symptoms of severe disease can include encephalitis or meningitis with possible stiff neck, confusion, loss of coordination, difficulty speaking and seizures.

JVC was first detected in 1961 in Jamestown Canyon, Colorado. Between 2011 and 2022, there were 281 confirmed infections in the U.S. across 23 states.

The first JCV mosquito pool was detected in Pennsylvania in 2023, suggesting that JCV is circulating in mosquitos and that human infection is possible.

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