PHOENIX — The West Nile virus has hit Maricopa County harder than it has in recent years. The number of contracted cases is way up and environmental service officials are worried about what the next line of storms will bring.
"This year, we have seen in Maricopa County, the highest levels of West Nile virus in a decade," said Johnny Dilone with Maricopa County Environmental Services.
So far, 147 people have contracted the virus with 15 losing their lives. That's more than anywhere else across the nation.
The symptoms typically present similar to the flu. However depending on your health, many people run the course of the virus without even knowing it.
RELATED MAP: Where mosquitoes have tested positive across Valley
The county says not only are contracted cases high but the number of mosquitoes testing positive for the virus is up too.
"Mosquito traps have been testing positive for West Nile virus, we have already seen 415, which is much higher than we saw last year, and the totals for previous years, so we are seeing a lot of activity," said Dilone.
It takes just a small amount of standing water for mosquitoes to lay thousands of larva. Many times that water is found in our backyards and around our homes without us even knowing it.
With more rain in the forecast in the days ahead, concern that more cases are on the way is a reality the county is monitoring closely.
"Every week we deploy over 800 mosquito traps to areas we have identified as problem areas," said Dilone.
The traps are used to test mosquitoes for diseases and population counts.
If there's an increase in activity or if mosquitoes caught in the traps test positive for West Nile, the county is ready to take action using fogging and other abatement efforts.
