West Nile Virus Closing In On Newtown

By Steve Bigham

Newtown Health District Director Mark Cooper this week predicted that a dead crow would turn up in town sometime soon. His comments were based upon recent discoveries of dead birds infected with the West Nile Virus in surrounding towns, including Bethel and Monroe.

“It’s pretty much all around us,” Mr Cooper said Thursday morning. “So far we’ve been negative on everything, but it’s closing in.”

In addition to Bethel and Monroe, the West Nile Virus has been found in dead birds or mosquitoes in four new Connecticut communities this week, state health officials said Tuesday. In all, the virus has been found in 29 Connecticut communities this summer, officials said. Bethel, New Britain, Waterbury, Bloomfield, Groton, and Monroe were added to the list Tuesday, after crows collected between August 17 and August 23 tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus. Infected birds also were found in eight communities where the virus had also been detected earlier this summer: Cheshire, Fairfield, Milford, Shelton, Darien, New Canaan, Wallingford, and West Hartford.

Authorities said 140 birds have tested positive for the virus in Connecticut so far this year, 136 of them crows. The virus also has been found in three pools of mosquitoes collected in Stamford and Norwalk.

The virus is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes and can sometimes lead to a deadly swelling of the brain. There have been no human cases reported in Connecticut this year.

 In early August, town highway crews traveled the streets of town dropping donut-shaped larvicide into catch basins in an effort to stop the spread of mosquitoes during the months of August and September. The mosquito-killing mission was a preventative measure against the spread of the virus.

According to Mr Cooper, catch basins along roadways are notorious breeding areas for mosquitoes. Also, the catch basins are connected to most of the local brooks, streams, and ponds. The hope is that the larvicide spread to these areas as well.

Last year, traces of the West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis were discovered for the first time in the Western Hemisphere in and around New York City where six people died during the late summer months. It was also found in two species of mosquitoes trapped in Greenwich and in the brain tissue of many crows in coastal Connecticut.

The West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne viral infection that can cause inflammation of the brain. It is named after the West Nile district of Uganda where the virus was first isolated in 1937. The elderly are most susceptible to this virus. West Nile is spread to humans by the bite of infected mosquitoes. A mosquito is infected by biting a bird that carries the virus.

Statistics gathered by the state offer more evidence that residents should not panic about West Nile-like encephalitis. The likelihood of being bitten by an infected mosquito is quite rare, according to information supplied by the DEP. Only about 1 in 1,000 mosquitoes are infected, so even if a person living in an area where West Nile-like virus has been reported is bitten, “They are not likely to get sick,” said Michele Sullivan, DEP Communications Director.

Dr Theodore Andreadis, chief medical entomologist for the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, heads up the state’s efforts to monitor mosquitoes. Throughout Connecticut, state entomologists are putting up mosquito trapping stations in an effort to find out what is out there. This year, state workers are monitoring a trap in the Dodgingtown section of town.

Mr Cooper is urging residents to eliminate any stagnant water around their homes and to use bug repellants when engaged in outdoor activities.