More West Nile Virus found in Warren

Finding is second here in just over a month, third this year statewide

By Ted Hayes
Posted 9/12/17

For the second time in just over a month, state biologists have found West Nile Virus in a mosquito sample collected in Warren. It is the third finding of the potentially deadly virus in Rhode Island …

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More West Nile Virus found in Warren

Finding is second here in just over a month, third this year statewide

Posted

For the second time in just over a month, state biologists have found West Nile Virus in a mosquito sample collected in Warren. It is the third finding of the potentially deadly virus in Rhode Island this year.

The first positive mosquito was collected in Warren on Monday, Aug. 7. The second came just over a week later in Barrington.

The samples were collected by Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) biologists and tested by the state Department of Health. Scientists said the positive finding is not unexpected. Mosquito-borne diseases are more prevalent in late summer and early fall, and risk typically lasts until the first frost.

Following the first discovery last month, DEM Mosquito Abatement coordinator Al Gettman said the finding doesn’t necessarily mean Warren is a hotspot.

“We’re kind of looking for a needle in a haystack,” he said. “Even though we found it (in a trap set near Vernon Street) people shouldn’t look to pinpoint where (West Nile) is and where it isn’t. It’s all over the northeast, actually.”

Mr. Gettman said positive findings have also come just over the Massachusetts border in Fairhaven, Seekonk and Swansea. In addition, there was recently a positive finding of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in Westport.

State officials monitor 30 battery-operated traps across the state, collecting samples on a weekly basis. They generally test all summer and start seeing positive reports increase in last summer to early Fall. Testing winds down in mid-fall when temperatures drop, Mr. Gettman said.

“The warning for people is to reduce their exposure” to mosquitos as much as possible, he said.

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