Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Test results from mosquito samples around Rhode Island found no West Nile virus or eastern equine encephalitis, the state Department of Environmental Management announced today.

The results are for 48 mosquito pools, or samples, from 22 traps set statewide during the week of June 16.

But the DEM cautioned that mosquito samples in Connecticut, near the Rhode Island border, recently turned up positive, indicating a "high probability that West Nile virus and possibly eastern equine encephalitis is present in certain areas of the state, though test results to date in Rhode Island are negative."

The DEM encouraged residents to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds and avoid getting bitten:

* Remove anything that holds standing water -- old tires, buckets, junk and debris.

* Clean gutters so they drain properly.

* Maintain swimming pools correctly.

* Use screens on windows and doors and cover up at dawn and dusk.

* Put mosquito netting over playpens and baby carriages if outside.

* Use mosquito repellant with no more than 30 percent DEET -- but don't use repellant on infants.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

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