Newtown Joins Efforts To Track West Nile Virus

By Jan Howard

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has set up an enhanced surveillance system for the West Nile virus that will be coordinated with community health departments, trapping stations, and veterinarians.

Newtown District Department of Health Director Mark Cooper attended a meeting in Shelton on April 11, sponsored by the DEP.

“It was very technical,” Mr Cooper said, “but there was a lot of good information.”

Mr Cooper said there is a plan in place if the virus is found in mosquitoes, birds, or horses in a community.

Mosquito monitoring stations are placed throughout the state, trapping mosquitoes that are then analyzed for the virus, he said. Newtown currently has one monitoring station, and is scheduled to receive another.

Nothing changes until the DEP finds the virus in a community, Mr Cooper said. “If West Nile is found in a community, they go to the next level.”

If the virus is found, the response mode would be dependent upon the development of the mosquitoes, he explained. In the larval stage, bacterial chemicals would be added directly to water areas where larva infected with the virus were found. In the adult stage, spraying would take place.

 Mr Cooper said even when mosquitoes are found to carry the virus, DEP is not advocating spraying an entire town. “They would target the area where the infected mosquitoes are found. They would not spray all over the town. You may have a small pocket of mosquitoes with the West Nile virus.”

If West Nile was to be found, the state would provide the machinery and the spray or larvacide, he said. The local Health Department would notify residents of plans to eliminate the infected mosquitoes, and would keep them informed of areas to be sprayed.

West Nile is a less severe disease than Eastern Equine Encephalitis, but can be life threatening to the elderly, Mr Cooper said. But everyone should take steps to reduce the potential for illness.

Property owners can reduce mosquitoes in their area by eliminating areas of standing water where they breed, he said, such as in birdbaths. Water should either be emptied or changed frequently or chemically treated.

Mr Cooper said the town would be collecting dead birds for testing for the West Nile virus beginning May 1. He said the state DEP is looking for hawks and crows, which are more susceptible to the virus than other birds.

Mr Cooper said to date no West Nile virus has been found in Connecticut, but “we should be prepared.”