West Nile virus has been discovered in five more local communities. Officials from the state mosquito management program said mosquitoes trapped in Bethel, Bridgeport, Meriden, Norwalk and Orange tested positive for the disease between July 22 and 27.
Before this, West Nile had been identified in Stamford and West Haven. There have been no confirmed human cases of potentially fatal West Nile virus infection in Connecticut this year.
The Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. J. Robert Galvin is urging residents to take proper precautions to prevent mosquito bites, the Associated Press reports.
West Nile virus is spread by mosquitoes that often pick up the virus from birds they bite. Symptoms include neck stiffness, disorientation, coma and paralysis.
