HARTFORD – Mosquitoes infected with the eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) were trapped for the first time in Newtown, according to the State Mosquito Management Program. The insects (Culex cenerius) were trapped on September 17.

Birds infected with West Nile Virus (WNV) were identified for the first time in 15 additional towns – Bethel, Bloomfield, Brooklyn, East Windsor, Eastford, Haddam, Hampton, New Britain, Plymouth, Preston, Salem, Stonington, Thompson, Woodbury and Woodstock.

The birds, found August 3 through September 14, include 21 crows and four blue jays, according to the SMMP.

“Although the weather is cooler, West Nile Virus and EEE virus are still out there and still pose a threat,” said Matthew Carter, MD, MPH, the Epidemiology Program Coordinator for the Connecticut Department of Public Health. “We are urging all Connecticut residents to take the recommended personal protective measures to avoid mosquito bites until the end of the mosquito season.”

A good, hard frost would sharply decrease the mosquito population, according to Theodore G. Andreadis, Ph.D., of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

During 2003, 10 Connecticut residents were diagnosed with illnesses attributed to WNV infection. Two may have been infected in Colorado, however, and one in Florida.

As of October 3, 359 WNV-infected birds have been found in 123 towns across the state.