The Suffolk County Health Department announced last week that a collection of 34 mosquito samples, including one sample found in East Hampton, tested positive for the West Nile Virus. The samples, collected between August 9 and August 12, were Asian tiger mosquitoes that are presently active in Suffolk County. This breed of mosquitoes have black and white stripes that are known to bite aggressively near feet and ankles during the day.
“These mosquitoes have been very common in Suffolk County since 1999,” Dr. James Tomarken of the Suffolk County Health Department said. “It is more commonly found in the west end than in East Hampton.”
Other samples that tested positive for the virus were found in Port Jefferson station, Huntington, Greenlawn, Lindenhurst, Dix Hills, Northport, Holtsville, Rocky Point, Selden, Farmingville, Setauket, West Babylon, Copiague, Bay Shore, Islip and Islip Terrace, Commack, North Patchogue, Yaphank, and Huntington Station. Dr. Tomarken said that the Department of Health tests for mosquitoes every week during the summertime, though he wouldn’t disclose the location of the mosquito traps in order to avoid people tampering with them.
“The results for these tests vary from area to area,” Dr. Tomarken said. “It’s very unpredictable as to where and how they end up in certain areas. But if we put a trap in a certain area and the virus is found in a mosquito in the trap, that doesn’t mean the mosquito came from that certain area. Mosquitoes travel over long distances so there are other places where the virus could have come from.”
In a press release last week, the Health Department included three essential precautionary steps for those concerned about the mosquitoes: Eliminate stagnant water where mosquitoes breed by dumping the water and scrubbing the containers weekly to remove the eggs; use mosquito repellent with EPA approved labeling on the product and follow instructions; consider using mosquito controllers; and treat yards with barrier type sprays containing permethrin as the active ingredient, or hire licensed pesticide applicators. Dr. Tomarken also said that the Health Department will continue to run weekly tests of mosquitoes throughout the summer.
Ninety-one mosquito samples in Suffolk County have tested positive for the virus as of this year, though no humans have tested positive for the virus in Suffolk County in 2016. The Health Department also advised those still having trouble with the mosquitos to call the Department of Public Works’ Vector Control Division at 631-852-4270 to request a vector control check in their respective areas. No mosquitoes collected for testing in Suffolk County have tested positive for the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne illness that can be particularly harmful to pregnant women.
Jon Winkler on Aug 19, 2016