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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state of Ohio is again testing mosquitoes for West Nile virus after the program became a victim of federal budget cuts last year.
The funding for the Ohio Department of Health program was restored in a mid-cycle budget bill that took effect July 1.
As 80 local health departments have used the suburban Columbus lab. State public health entomologist Richard Gary tells The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1AfmwXT) that the state lab has received about 36,000 mosquitoes in the past 10 days.
The lab had confirmed a West Nile virus-infected mosquito in Licking County, east of Columbus, this month.
Some cities and counties started their own testing after the program was lost. Gary says having a state lab gives a better picture of the West Nile situation across Ohio.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
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