North Branford, Branford, Mosquitoes Positive For West Nile Virus

NORTH BRANFORD, CT — Mosquitoes collected in North Branford and Branford have tested positive for the West Nile virus, the East Shore District Health Department announced Wednesday.

Collected from surveillance traps in the Hosley Avenue-area in Branford and in the vicinity of Cedar Lake in North Branford, they "represent the first WNV positive mosquitoes identified in our district by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station this year," a news release from the health department reads.

What you East Shore District Health says need to know

The West Nile virus season in Connecticut started on June 15th. CAES have identified mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus in 29 municipalities of their 79 testing sites since that week. From June through the month of August, CAES has captured 120 specimens of mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus. Two human cases of WNV have been reported this summer in Bridgeport and West Haven. The unusually wet summer and recent heavy rains have increased the breeding areas for mosquitoes in our state. The species of mosquito carrying West Nile Virus can be found in a wide variety of places, such as old tires, stagnant pools of ground water, artificial containers, or catch basins.

West Nile virus has been detected in the state every year since 1999. In 2020, CAES detected WNV-infected mosquitoes in 143 mosquito samples collected from 28 municipalities. The majority of WNV activity was detected in densely populated urban and suburban regions in Fairfield, Hartford, and New Haven counties, consistent with prior years. Eight human cases were reported last year.

CAES also tests for mosquitoes carrying Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and Jamestown Canyon Virus (JCV). Sixteen specimens carrying JCV have been identified this summer. No specimens carrying EEE have been reported. Jamestown Canyon Virus rarely infects humans, with 166 human cases identified from 2004 – 2018. It is mostly found in midwestern and northeastern states. JCV causes illness, fever, meningitis, or meningoencephalitis. No mosquito specimens carrying EEE have been identified this past summer.

Personal protection measures include:

• Minimize time spent outdoors around dusk and dawn.
• Be sure door and window screens are tight fitting and in good repair.
• Wear shoes, socks, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt when and where mosquitoes are most active.
• Use mosquito netting when sleeping and to protect small babies when outdoors.
• Consider the use of mosquito repellent containing DEET when it is necessary to be outdoors.

East Shore District Health is also advising that people continue eliminating stagnant water in and around their properties.

• Dispose of water holding containers, such as ceramic pots, used tires, tire swings.
• Drill holes in bottoms of recycling containers.
• Clean clogged roof gutters
• Turn over plastic wading pools, wheelbarrows, etc.
• Change water in bird baths on a weekly basis.
• Clean and chlorinate swimming pools that are not being used, including pool covers.
• Use landscaping to eliminate standing water on your property.

The CAES maintains a network of 92 mosquito-trapping stations in 72 municipalities throughout the state. CAES begins mosquito trapping and testing in June and continues into October. Positive findings are reported to local health departments and on the CAES website at https://portal.ct.gov/caes.

For information on WNV and other mosquito-borne diseases, what can be done to prevent getting bitten by mosquitoes, the latest mosquito test results, and human infections, visit the Connecticut Mosquito Management Program web site at https://portal.ct.gov/mosquito.