COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus Public Health started spraying neighborhoods early Thursday morning to prevent the West Nile Virus.

On Tuesday, Columbus Public Health officials said one mosquito pool tested positive for the virus in the Linden area. Scott Whittaker, the Vector program manager with Columbus Public Health, said testing mosquitoes for disease is a multi-step process.

First, they set traps and wait overnight until they’ve collected enough mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are dried and frozen. Then, the identification process begins. Whittaker said they are looking for certain defining features in mosquitoes like color, length of wings, and appearance of the head and body. So far in 2015, CPH has tested more than 200 mosquito samples. Each sample carries up to 50 mosquitoes each.

Whittaker says the amount of rain Columbus experienced in June created a large mosquito population.

“We are seeing water everywhere,” Scott Whittaker, the Vector program manager with Columbus Public Health said. “We are seeing water along ditches and accumulating in wooded areas in people’s backyards. So we knew it was just a matter of time before we saw the mosquito population explode.”Franklin Co. Mosquito Management Program: Click Here

Columbus Public Health will spray the following Area Neighborhoods to Prevent West Nile Virus on Thursday 9, 2015:

North Linden: (North Boundary – E Weber Rd., East Boundary – Attwood Terrace, South Boundary – E Hudson St., West Boundary – I-71)

North Linden: (North Boundary – Carbone Dr., East Boundary – Karl Rd., South Boundary – Northridge Rd., West Boundary – I-71)

Northwest Columbus: (North Boundary – Bahamas Dr., East Boundary – I-270 , South Boundary – Peak Ridge Dr. , West Boundary – Alum Creek)

Northwest Columbus: (North Boundary – Marcella Dr., East Boundary – Blendon Woods Metro Park, South Boundary – Big Walnut Creek, West Boundary – Walnut View Blvd.)