PRINCETON — Mosquito surveillance for the 2012 West Nile Virus season has come to an end in Bureau and Putnam counties with 1,830 mosquitoes sampled and ultimately testing negative for the disease.

Bureau/Putnam County Health Department Director Diana Rawlings said mosquito traps were located throughout Bureau and Putnam counties during the 2012 summer. Although West Nile Virus (WNV) has not been detected in either Bureau or Putnam county through mosquito testing, surrounding counties have had positive mosquito pools, she said.

The Bureau/Putnam County Health Department collected four dead birds in each county for testing this year. Of the total eight birds collected, only one blue jay, collected in the Princeton area, tested positive. The detection of WNV in birds is an indication the virus is here, and the threat of contracting West Nile Virus is still present, Rawlings said.