Year’s 1st West Nile cases reported

A dead crow in Northridge and a mosquito pool in Rowland Heights have tested positive for the West Nile virus, the first confirmed cases in Los Angeles County this year, vector control officials said Friday.

But Robert Saviskas, the county vector control director, was quick to downplay the significance of the findings because testing so early in the year is unusual.

“There isn’t much to compare it with to see if it’s significant,” he said, adding that testing in the past has begun in the spring when the virus is more likely to spread.

But he said increased funding allowed earlier testing, which could indicate what the season will be like.