There still hasn’t been any West Nile Virus detected in Connecticut’s mosquitoes — a phenomenon that at least one local scientist said he was somewhat anticipating.
Theodore Andreadis is director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, which runs the state’s mosquito trapping and testing program. He said, at the start of this season, he expected that West Nile might not be as rampant this year, as last season was the worst in the state’s history for the mosquito-borne illness.
“So many birds (which play a role in spreading West Nile) were exposed last year, so there may be some herd immunity,” Andreadis said.
Last year, there was a total of 393 positive mosquito samples collected from 65 sites in 53 municipalities. The state reported 23 human cases of West Nile, and one death — the first since 2006.
Andreadis said the number of Culex pipiens mosquitoes, which are the main mosquitoes that carry West Nile, has also been low this year, which might be another reason why virus activity has been stagnant so far.
Another expert from the agricultural station, Philip Armstrong, echoed Andreadis’s thoughts that the low numbers of Culex mosquitoes could be responsible for what is likely just a late start to West Nile season — which he expects to pick up soon.
“In prior years, we have had a similar slow start but virus activity can ramp up very quickly,” said Armstrong, a virologist and medical entomologist, in an email. “I expect the numbers of Culex pipiens to increase with the onset of hot weather in July and that could lead to an increase in WNV activity.”
West Nile activity is already increasing elsewhere in the country, including nearby Massachusetts, New Jersey and New...
from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Experts-Late-start-to-West-Nile-season-not-14258509.php
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