Westport Issues West Nile Virus Advisory

Press release from the Town of Westport:

WESTPORT, CT — Mark A.R. Cooper, Director of Health for the Aspetuck Health District stated [last week] that West Nile Virus has now been found in mosquitoes trapped in Westport. This comes as no surprise as other area towns have already found mosquitos carrying the virus in the past few weeks. With warm and wet weather conditions, which are favorable for breeding mosquitoes, and with plenty of time before the first frost that ends the mosquito season locally, there is concern that the number of infected mosquitoes will continue to increase, increasing the potential for human exposure. Mr. Cooper stated that “there is no reason to panic, but precautions should be exercised to avoid being bitten by mosquitos.”

Mosquitoes will deposit their eggs in any pool of water they can find and will be eagerly looking for blood to feed on once they mature and begin to fly. The mosquitoes testing positive were Culex pipens mosquitoes the predominately feed on bird hosts, but given the opportunity, will feed on humans. No human cases of West Nile Virus have been identified yet in Connecticut.

The Health District recommends residents take the following precautions:

• Eliminate any object outside that can hold water and become a breeding place for mosquitoes.
• Clean house gutters that may be retaining water.
• Empty wading pools and bird baths every few days.
• Chlorinate swimming pools regularly.
• Make sure the covers that are on grills, boats, pools, and other equipment do not collect water.
• Also, be sure door and window screens are tight fitting and in good repair to avoid mosquito bites when indoors.

Tips for avoiding mosquito bites when outdoors:

Mosquitoes require a blood meal for reproduction. The following are measures that can help reduce bites from mosquitoes that feed on people:

• Be particularly careful at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.
• Wear shoes, socks, long pants, and long-sleeved shirts. Clothing material should be tightly woven.
• Use mosquito netting when sleeping outdoors.
• Consider the use of CDC- recommended mosquito repellents, containing DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, IR3535, or 2-undecanone, and apply according to directions, when it is necessary to be outdoors.
• When using DEET, use the lowest concentration effective for the time spent outdoors (for example, 6 percent lasts approximately two hours and 20 percent for four hours) and wash treated skin when returning indoors. Do not apply under clothing, to wounds or irritated skin, the hands of children, or to infants less than two months old.

For more information on West Nile Virus, visit the Health District's Web site at www.aspetuckhd.org and/or the Connecticut Mosquito Management Program Web site at www.ct.gov/mosquito.

This press release was produced by the Town of Westport. The views expressed here are the author’s own.