No West Nile or EEE Infected Mosquitos Detected in Norfolk County

Written by Whitney Cyr

The first case of EEE (Eastern equine encephalitis) infected mosquitos has been reported in Amherst, Mass., according to Boston.com. EEE is a potentially fatal infection. While typically a disease found in Southeastern Mass., mosquitos infected with EEE are not commonly found in the area of Amherst. Boston.com reported seven Massachusetts residents were infected with the disease last year, which was the worst season in decades.

“There’s obviously been some West Nile virus testing going on, but both Westwood or Dedham hasn’t had a positive case yet. When we have heavy rains, we get more mosquitos, we get more calls, but things are quieting down now,” Catherine Cardinale, Dedham Health Director said. “The Norfolk County is in charge of the spraying and mosquito control.”

Throughout the state, weekly mosquito tests are important tools in the detection of diseases like EEE and West Nile and in measuring the amount of mosquitos in the area.

During the week of July 21-27, Center for Disease Control light traps, which use a small light source to attract mosquitos, collected higher than average amounts of mosquitos in Canton, Holbrook, Millis, Needham, Quincy, Randolph and Westwood. Dedham, however, reported lower than average along with the rest of Norfolk County, but this is a dramatic drop from previous weeks.

A particular species of mosquito native to the northeast,coquillettidia perturbans, commonly known as the Cattail mosquito, “continues to have significant activity” in Westwood, according to the report.

“What it comes down to is water,” David Lawson, the director of the Norfolk County Mosquito Control District said. “All mosquitos need water to complete their life cycle. In June, we had 10 or 11 inches of rain which is three to four times more than normal.”

In addition to the light traps, another type of trap is used to collect mosquitos. Lawson said the traps are set up in every town to collect the insects.

Gravid traps, a plastic washbasin that is filled with a liquid mosquito attractant, continue to have higher than average mosquito levels throughout Norfolk County.

Lawson said the amount of rain in June has led to the larger amount of mosquitos.

“Mosquito populations have been fairly high this summer, so we’ve had lots of requests for spraying,” Lawson said. “We’ll break our record for mosquito spraying requests already this summer.”

Lawson said there have been no cases of West Nile or EEE in the area this summer, but it is the time of year when it becomes an issue.

“People who are more susceptible, like the elderly and the immune-compromised, should protect themselves from mosquito bites,” he suggested. “We continue to track and send our mosquitos to the Department of Public Health. We’re vigilant in our surveillance, and if we do get a positive test, we’ll respond accordingly.” 

According to the Westwood Board of Public health website, mosquito control spraying is on a request basis only. The spraying doesn’t repel the mosquitos, it is designed to kill them, Lawson said.

Residents who would like to have their property sprayed or if they would like to know if their streets are being sprayed on a particular day are encouraged to visit  www.norfolkcountymosquito.org, according to Lawson. The online request form goes directly into their database.