State Reports Newtown Mosquitoes Test Positive For West Nile Virus

Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert is reminding residents to check their properties thoroughly for areas of even a cup’s worth of standing water in light of the recent announcement of West Nile virus infected mosquitoes being found locally.

The State Mosquito Management Program announced on Tuesday, August 24, that mosquitoes trapped from August 12 to 18 in Newtown, as well as in Darien, Greenwich, New Britain, Stratford, and Trumbull, have tested positive for West Nile Virus (WNV).

These are the first positive mosquitoes identified in these five towns by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) this year.

“West Nile Virus in mosquitoes is spreading to additional areas of the state,” said Theodore G. Andreadis, PhD, chief medical entomologist, CAES. “Positive mosquitoes also continue to be identified in previously identified areas indicating increasing proportion of mosquitoes infected.”

“I am reminding Connecticut residents of the importance to take necessary precautions to prevent mosquito bites at this time of the year,” said Department of Public Health (DPH) Commissioner Dr J. Robert Galvin.

Ms Culbert said that anyone outside should be careful to wear appropriate protective clothing and repellant.

“These measures have been found to be very effective deterrents if used properly,” she said, adding that potentially affected insects can still be active until the region experiences a “hard freeze.”

But she could not overstate the difference in preventing mosquitoes by homeowners being vigilant to any areas of standing water, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.

“Especially with all this on-again, off-again rain,” she said. “I know it is very challenging to try and keep up, but dumping out any containers of standing water could go far toward preventing concentrations of these insects.”

So far this season, positive mosquitoes have been identified in 18 towns: Bethel, Bridgeport, Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, Manchester, Meriden, Milford, Newtown, Norwalk, New Britain, Orange, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, West Haven, Westport, and Wethersfield.

Two people, residents of New Haven and Trumbull, have been reported with WNV infections this year.

Monitoring and risk assessment for WNV emphasizes mosquito trapping and testing results. The CAES maintains a network of 91 mosquito-trapping stations in 72 municipalities throughout the state. Mosquito traps are set Monday through Thursday nights and conducted at each site every ten days on a rotating basis.

Mosquitoes are grouped (pooled) for testing according to species, collection site, and date. Each pool is tested for the presence of viruses of public health importance. Positive findings are reported to local health departments, in press releases, and on the CAES website.

For information on West Nile virus and what you can do to prevent getting bitten by mosquitoes, visit the Connecticut Mosquito Management Program website at www.ct.gov/mosquito.