North Babylon -- The New York State Department of Health has notified Suffolk County that additional mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile virus. One sample was collected from Blydenburgh County Park in Islip on September 7th.

Blydenburgh Park, which has been closed from dusk to dawn since late July when the first positive sample was collected there, will remain closed during those hours until further notice. Another positive sample was collected on September 6th from the North Babylon area.

Twelve mosquito pools collected in Suffolk County have tested positive for West Nile virus this season. A total of fifteen birds collected this year in the County have tested positive for the virus.

West Nile virus, first detected in Suffolk County in 1999 and again each year thereafter through 2006, is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. The virus can cause serious illness, and in some cases, death. It is estimated that 20 percent of those who become infected will develop West Nile fever. Mild symptoms include fever, headache and body aches, and occasionally a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. Symptoms of severe infection (West Nile encephalitis or meningitis) include high fever, muscle weakness, stupor and disorientation. In 2006, two Suffolk County residents were diagnosed with West Nile disease; in 2005 seven human cases were reported in Suffolk County.