FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE         Connecticut Department of Public Health

September 22, 2010                              Contact: William Gerrish

                                                              (860) 509-7270

                                                              Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

                                                              Contact:  Dr. Theodore Andreadis

                                                              (203) 974-8510

Hartford – The State Mosquito Management Program today announced that mosquitoes trapped in Stonington on September 9 and in West Hartford September 14, 2010 have tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). These are the first positive mosquitoes identified in Stonington and West Hartford by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) this year.

“Virus activity in mosquitoes has slowed due to the cooler weather, but we continue to find infected mosquitoes throughout central and southern regions of the state,” said Dr. Theodore G. Andreadis, Ph.D., Chief Medical Entomologist, CAES. “The threat for human infection will remain for several more weeks.”

So far this season, WNV-positive mosquitoes have been identified in 23 towns – Bethel, Bridgeport, Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, Milford, Newtown, Norwalk, New Britain, New Haven, Orange, Stamford, Stratford, Stonington, Trumbull, Wallingford, West Hartford, West Haven, Westport and Wethersfield.  Six people, living in Bridgeport, Clinton, Greenwich, New Haven, Stamford and Trumbull, have been reported with infections this year. Two additional Connecticut residents were infected while traveling out of state.

To monitor WNV, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station maintains a network of 91 mosquito-trapping stations in 72 municipalities throughout the state from June through October.  Mosquito traps are set every ten days at each site on a rotating basis.  Mosquitoes are grouped (pooled) according to species, collection site, and date.  Each pool is cultured for the presence of viruses of public health importance including West Nile and eastern equine encephalitis viruses. 

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

###