“They attack, especially in our yard, and it’s been horrible,” said Angie Rivera of New Haven.
Across the state, people have been experiencing increased mosquito activity, even for this time of year.
“Woke up this morning and I found some in my bathtub, so that’s a little bit too much for me,” said Douglas White of West Haven.
Within the last few weeks, Dr. Philip Armstrong of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station said that based on traps they have throughout the state, mosquito numbers have roughly doubled.
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“The abundant rainfall, the heat, the high humidity–it’s almost like a perfect storm for these mosquitos to flourish,” Armstrong said.
“Terrified of them,” said Eugene Scott of New Haven, “because you never know what mosquitos may carry the virus.”
Through various tests, Armstrong and his team have detected strains of West Nile Virus in mosquitoes trapped in New Haven, Fairfield and Hartford counties.
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“All of the virus activity that we’ve picked up so far this year has been in mosquitos, so to date, we have no reported human cases,” Armstrong said.
No human cases yet, but according to experts, the period of peak risk for humans to report the virus starts about this time of year and goes through September.
“We’re testing the mosquitos in trap locations throughout the state and we’re going to continue to monitor them to see if the virus continues to intensify in the weeks ahead,” Armstrong said.
Whether they’re carrying the virus or not, mosquitos have a type.
“One of my kids might get bitten, the other one might not, so it depends on, I don’t know, blood type?” White said.
Blood type is a common theory, but according to Armstrong, mosquito preference actually depends more on a person’s scent.
“I guess the short answer is some people smell better to them,” he said.
Armstrong said most people who are exposed to the virus don’t necessarily develop the disease, while some develop more flu-like symptoms.
He said a very small percentage of those infected can experience serious symptoms that can be fatal.
