Suffolk County health officials are urging residents to take precautions against mosquito bites following a high count of mosquito samples testing positive for the West Nile virus this season.
Twenty-five mosquito samples collected across the county on Aug. 6, including two from Aquebogue, tested positive for the virus, according to a Suffolk County Department of Health Services press release issued yesterday. The virus can be transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, the health department said.
Other samples that tested positive were from Southold (2), East Hampton (1), Shelter Island (1), Cold Spring Harbor (1), Dix Hills (1), Northport (1), Copiague (1), Lindenhurst (4), Nesconset (1), Bay Shore (2), Bohemia (1), Port Jefferson Station (1), Islip (1), Farmingville (1), Holtsville (1), North Patchogue (1) and Rocky Point (2). One sample collected on July 30 from Nesconset also tested positive, the department said.
Two crows collected on Aug. 9, one in Hampton Bays and one from Cutchogue, also tested positive for the virus, the health department said.
Suffolk County has reported 157 mosquito samples and five birds positive for West Nile virus this season. The health department previously reported mosquitoes collected in Riverhead, Manorville and Aquebogue tested positive for the virus. One human case of West Nile virus has been reported this season.
The number of mosquitos testing positive for the virus is “unusually high,” Health Commissioner Gregson Pigott said in a statement.
“As there are still eight to ten weeks left in the season, we ask residents to continue to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites and to get rid of any standing water around their homes,” he said.
West Nile virus was first detected in bird and mosquito samples in Suffolk County in 1999 and have been detected every year since. The virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito and most people infected with the virus experience mild or no symptoms, according to county health officials. However, some people can develop severe symptoms — including high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis — which may last several weeks and have permanent neurological effects. If illness develops in someone infected by the West Nile virus, symptoms can occur 3-15 days after a bite from an infected mosquito, according to the New York State Department of Health.
There is no commercially available human vaccine for the West Nile virus and the best protection against the virus is to prevent mosquito bites, according to the New York State Department of Health.
Individuals can avoid mosquito bites by minimizing outdoor activities between dusk and dawn; wearing shoes and socks, long pants, and long-sleeved shirts when mosquitoes are active; using mosquito repellent; and making sure all windows and doors have screens, Pigott said. People 50 years or older and people with compromised immune systems are urged to take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
Residents can also eliminate all standing water in yards around their property where mosquitoes can breed, according to the state health department.
Dead birds may indicate the presence of the West Nile virus in the area, the health department said. Report dead birds to the Bureau of Public Health Protection at 631-852-5999 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Residents are encouraged to take a photograph of any bird in question. To report mosquito problems or stagnant pools of water, call the Department of Public Works’ Vector Control Division at 631-852-4270.
Last year, the county had 99 positive mosquito samples and five human cases of the virus, according to the county health department.
In addition to West Nile virus, moquitos can transmit other serious diseases. Travelers to other areas of the world are at risk of contracting diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. While rare in the state, New Yorkers traveling to and from areas where dengue fever and malaria are present should protect themselves from mosquito bites using the same prevention measures, according to the state health department.
To help control the mosquito population, Suffolk County Vector Control periodically sprays wetlands and marshes where mosquitos typically breed. Vector control applies pesticides that kill mosquito larvae as well as adult mosquitoes.
The health department announced in a press release this afternoon that Suffolk County Vector Control will apply VectoPrime FG [Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) and Altosid (Methoprene)] to marshes throughout the county from Aug. 21 to 23, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Locations include Indian Island in Riverhead, Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue and Iron Point in Flanders.
MORE COVERAGE: Aerial spraying for mosquito larvae scheduled for Wednesday through Friday this week
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