Public Health Info: New Jersey DOH Vector-borne Surveillance Report, Week 41

What You Need To Know

Please find below the NJDOH vector-borne surveillance report for week 41.

Report highlights:

There are no new West Nile Virus (WNV) human cases this week. To date there are 18 cases reported in 12 counties and three presumptive viremic blood donors (PVD). No animal or avian cases of WNV have been reported.
Thirteen mosquito pools tested positive for WNV since last week’s report, for a total of 1,147 positive mosquito pools. The number of weekly detections in mosquitoes continued to decline but recent activity remains above the 5-year average.
The average number of Culex mosquitoes reported in the previous two weeks remains highest in Hudson and Salem counties (data unavailable for five counties). Culex mosquitoes are predominantly responsible for WNV transmission and are often found around the home, taking advantage of standing water sources (e.g., buckets, wheelbarrows, tarps).
No mosquito pools tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) this week, but activity has been elevated in recent weeks with 13 out of 17 detections occurring between weeks 38-40.
There is no change in Jamestown Canyon Virus (JCV) or La Crosse Encephalitis Virus (LAC) activity this week. To date, there is one JCV human case and five JCV positive mosquito pools; and two LAC positive mosquito pools.
Several tickborne disease cases (e.g., anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, hard tick relapsing fever, Powassan virus) have approached or exceeded 2024 totals. The number of tick-related emergency department visits increased this week but remains consistent with the 5-year average.

N.J. vector-borne disease data is available online: https://dashboards.doh.nj.gov/views/public_dashboard/Intro and can be accessed on the “Fight the Bite N.J.” webpage: https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/vectorborne.shtml.