Government is warning the public to heed its anti-mosquito campaign after the deadly West Nile virus reached the Caribbean and infected a man in the Cayman islands.

Householders have been asked to tip out standing water which acts as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

But Environmental Health Officer David Kendell admitted the Fight the Bite media campaign had failed to stop numbers increasing in the central and western parishes.

He said: "This summer the mosquito has moved into new areas of Bermuda and it has extended it's range further West and East. The known bounds of the mosquito are now from Dockyard to Coney Island."

He said the news from the Caymans was reason to take the mosquito threat seriously.

He said: "Before 1999 West Nile Virus was unknown in North America. It was confined to Europe and North America."

The virus, which has flu-like symptoms and can cause a deadly inflammation of the brain, has killed nine people on the east coast in the last three years.

This year it headed south and killed an Atlanta woman in August, the same month the man in Cayman's was hospitalised. He is believed to be recovering.

Mr. Kendell said: "It's really been an eye opener. It took three years to get to the Cayman's, the first case in the Caribbean.

"This underlines the importance of mosquito control."

Around 15,000 households in Bermuda have been visited by health officers to root out mosquitoes. He said some homeowners reacted quickly while others needed the threat of court action.

More than 1,500 written cautions have been served because live larvae were found while more than 200 households had been given more formal warnings because of continued non-compliance. Court action is the next step with the first case possible before the end of the year. First time offences will cost the homeowner $168. Repeat offenders will fork out $420.

Government even has the power to destroy areas of standing water if homeowners refused to take action. He said: "We get reports from Government clinics. My experience is that nine out of ten people who take children for a medical attention for mosquito bites are the culprits themselves in harbouring mosquitoes."

But even conscientious residents can get caught out. Environmental health officers have found that mosquitoes are breeding in the holes in building block in retaining walls.

Householders are advised to fill in the holes or cover them with concrete. Unscreened overflows on tanks are another hidden haven for the insects.