The Connecticut State Mosquito Management Program announced that mosquitoes have been tested positive for WNV (West Nile Virus) in nine Stratford towns between July 25 and August 1. The towns include Woodbridge, New Canaan, Hamden, Litchfield, Fairfield, Easton, Darien and Danbury. The Mosquito Management Program has been working in conjunction with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES).

So far this year, mosquitoes infected with WNV have been trapped in 15 municipalities, including New Britain, Bridgeport, Orange, Danbury, Stratford, Darien, Woodbridge, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Hamden, Litchfield, New Canaan, Stamford and Westport.

So far, no humans have been identified with WNV infection this year in the state.

Dr. Theodore G. Andreadis, Chief Medical Entomologist, CAES, said:

“As expected, we continue to find mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus in more locations in lower Fairfield County and are now seeing an expansion into other areas of Connecticut. Over the next few weeks and into early fall, we expect to see further build-up of West Nile virus with increased risk for human infection throughout the state, especially in densely populated communities.”

The State of Connecticut uses 91 mosquito-trapping stations positioned in 72 municipalities to monitor WNV activity – they are all maintained by CAES. Mosquito traps are set on Mondays and Thursdays, at night, and conducted at each site on a rotating basis every ten days. The mosquitoes are pooled for testing according to date, collection site and species.

Each pool is sent to the lab and tested for viruses that are deemed of importance to public health. Cases of infect mosquitoes are reported to local health departments, in press releases, and the CAES website.

Written by Christian Nordqvist