Via The Herald News: Mosquitoes test positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis in Tiverton. Excerpt:
A pool of mosquitoes from a trap set in central Tiverton tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management announced Tuesday.
According to the DEM, the positive finding came from mosquitoes trapped on Aug. 6 and tested at a Rhode Island Department of Health laboratory. It’s the first pool of mosquitoes to be found positive for EEE in Rhode Island this year. And it’s likely that EEE is also present in other parts of the state, the DEM warned.
So far in the state two other pools of mosquitoes have also tested positive for West Nile Virus. Last week Massachusetts reported its first human infection of EEE, in Middlesex County.
The R.I. DEM said it would be setting extra mosquito traps in the East Bay area.
The positive EEE result was from a Culiseta species that feeds almost exclusively on birds, according to the DEM. The department said, to date, EEE has been isolated in mammal-biting mosquito species trapped in numerous locations in southeastern Massachusetts. These findings of significant numbers of mosquitoes prompted aerial spraying in affected communities.
Dr. Alan Gettman, the DEM's mosquito abatement coordinator, said it was not surprising to find the positive EEE sample at this time of year. He cautioned all Rhode Islanders to take extra care to protect themselves from bites.
