Fish and West Nile Virus

Know a couple of people who have this. Beware.

FishingWest Nile Virus is another concern for anglers

By Martin Armstrong - The Advocate


Add West Nile Virus (WNV) to your list of things to worry about.
The Connecticut State Mosquito Management Program announced last week that mosquitoes trapped in Stamford on July 7, have tested positive for WNV. These are the first WNV-positive mosquitoes identified in Stamford by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station this year.
The infected mosquitoes were found in two of the three testing traps currently in use in Stamford. The traps holding the infected mosquitoes were located at Sleepy Hollow Park in Springdale and on Intervale Road in Turn of River. A third trap, which contained no infected mosquitoes, is located at Cove Island Park.
The infected mosquito species trapped in Stamford was Culex pipiens, a common mosquito species found in residential areas and one of the species that is responsible for spreading WNV in Connecticut.
So far this summer, positive mosquitoes have been identified in three towns - Bridgeport, Stamford and Stonington. Last summer WNV was identified in mosquitoes in 18 towns.
"The isolations of West Nile virus from Culex mosquitoes in three towns and the expected warm weather are reasons to believe that the virus is building across the state," said Theodore G. Andreadis, Ph.D., Chief Medical Entomologist, CAES in a press release. "We will continue to monitor mosquitoes through the summer and fall and ask property owners to reduce mosquito breeding areas."
To monitor WNV, the CAES maintains a network of 91
mosquito-trapping stations in 72 municipalities throughout the state from June through October. Mosquito traps are set every 10 days at each site on a rotating basis. Mosquitoes are grouped (pooled) for testing according to species, collection site, and date.

"We are fortunate that Connecticut has the ability to conduct statewide monitoring of mosquito transmitted diseases," said J. Robert Galvin, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A, Department of Public Health (DPH) Commissioner. "Announcements alerting the public to important findings should be taken seriously. The DPH is asking residents to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites especially the elderly living in areas where WNV is identified."
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.