Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta announced this past Friday that the New York State Department of Health has confirmed evidence of the West Nile Virus in mosquito pools in Garden City, Massapequa Park and Elmont.

At the end of August, after six months of monitoring the mosquito population by collecting them from traps located throughout county, the first mosquitoes in Nassau County infected with the virus were found in Massapequa and Farmingdale. In response to the finding of these two infected pools of mosquitoes the county did ground spraying in those areas on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.

As of press time, the Nassau County Department of Health has chosen not to spray in the Garden City and Elmont areas. According to Cynthia Brown, from the Nassau County Department of Health, the infected pool in Massapequa Park was collected prior to the spraying in that area.

After the announcement of the new mosquito pools, the county put out additional traps over the weekend to monitor the situation more closely. On Monday, Brown stated, "At this time there are no plans to spray. The mosquito counts over the weekend were low and activity is down." In addition, Brown noted that it is expected that we will be getting rain and cooler temperatures, which lessens mosquito activity. She added that when the amount of daylight decreases, mosquitoes switch from seeking blood meals to seeking nectar meals in order to bulk up for the winter. "However, there are still mosquitoes out there who have already taken blood meals and are still looking for blood meals so we'd like to maintain, there are still precautions about removing standing water and about taking personal precautions when you are outside at dusk or dawn or in the evening," said Brown.

Among the preventative measures recommended are: wearing long sleeved shirts and long pants when working or playing outside, using mosquito repellant, and eliminating any stagnant water that may gather around the home. "These household mosquitoes, which are the carriers of West Nile Virus, travel less than 200 feet from their original breeding ground to find a victim," said County Executive Gulotta. "It is imperative that homeowners do not leave these insects the slightest opportunity to breed." The county has distributed copies of its Mosquito Control Program brochures available at local libraries, schools, community groups, and transportation centers. Residents may call the West Nile Virus Information Hotline at 571-2500 for a recorded message, 24 hours a day, for the most up-to-date West Nile Virus information or they can check out the county website at: http://www.co.nassau.ny.us. Residents calling to report a dead bird or mosquito problem may call 571-8707, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

According to Brown the county will continue to monitor the mosquito situation and notification will be given 24 hours prior to any spraying in the area.