Conn. Officials Say Mosquitoes In East Haven Test Positive For West Nile

EAST HAVEN, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- Officials in Connecticut are warning residents after mosquitoes tested positive for West Nile virus in East Haven.

The mosquitoes, which were trapped earlier this month, are the first ones to test positive for the virus this year, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said.

"If we get into a real hot spell with temperatures in the 90s, as we have in recent summers, then I would anticipate that this virus will begin to amplify a bit more rapidly," state epidemiologist Theodore Andreadis told WCBS 880's Fran Schneidau.

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To reduce the risk of West Nile, officials say there are several steps you can take:

- Minimize time spent outdoors between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.
- Make sure door and window screens are tight-fitting and in good repair.
- Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts when outdoors for long periods of time or when mosquitoes are most active.
- Use mosquito netting when sleeping outside or in an unscreened structure.
- Consider using mosquito repellent.

Andreadis is warning travelers to islands in the Caribbean to be especially wary of another mosquito-borne virus called Chikungunya.

So far, 11 Connecticut residents have contracted this virus after returning from the islands where he says the virus has reached epidemic proportions.

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