Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Sample results around Rhode Island showed no West Nile Virus or Eastern Equine Encephalitis during the week of July 28, the state Department of Environmental Management reported today.

Sixty mosquito pools, or samples, from 33 traps around the state came back negative.

The DEM nevertheless urged residents to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds from yards -- anything that holds standing water, where mosquitoes like to breed. That means old tires, buckets, junk, and debris. The DEM said people should clean gutters so they drain properly and maintain swimming pools properly.

Another tip: Put screens on windows. People should cover up at dawn and dusk. Put mosquito netting over playpens and baby carriages when they are outside. Use mosquito repellent containing not more than 30 percent DEET -- but do not use repellent on infants.

No mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile or Triple-E this year in Rhode Island. But Connecticut, and in Fall River and Somerset, Mass., West Nile has turned up. The two Massachusetts communities planned to carry out spraying this week after finding mosquitoes carrying West Nile.
-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

 Tags  Eastern Equine Encephalitis Rhode Island West Nile Virus

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