Onondaga County Health Commissioner, Dr. Indu Gupta, was notified today of a finding of Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) in mosquitoes collected from a trap located on Island Road in the Cicero Swamp area in the town of Cicero. This is the same location as previous findings of West Nile virus (WNV). Dr. Gupta explains that “EEE is a rare but serious disease that is caused by a virus transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito, therefore it is extremely important that residents use personal protection measures to reduce their risk of mosquito bites”
The Onondaga County Health Department is making plans to conduct aerial spraying of the Cicero Swamp and immediate surrounding areas pending approval from the New York State Department of Health. Gupta explains, “This proactive measure is an attempt to interrupt the mosquito breeding cycles. Reducing the number of mosquitoes (although it is temporary) can reduce the number of mosquitoes available to transmit the virus to humans.” The timing of the spraying will be determined by weather conditions and other factors, and the actual date will be announced to the public through local news, social media, and other communication channels. Residents in the spray areas will also be notified by phone through the 911 emergency notification system–existing landlines with active service are already registered to receive emergency notifications through the system. Cellular and some VoIP phones are not in the system database. If you would like to be contacted on your cellular or VoIP line to receive emergency notifications in your area, you must self-register on the system at ongov.net/911/notification.html
The Onondaga County Health Department remains in close contact with the New York State Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation. For more information about personal protection measures against mosquitoes, visit www.ongov.net/health/env/mosquitoes.html. For future mosquito pool test results, please see the data available at http://www.ongov.net/health/env/documents/MosquitoData.pdf.
For more information or contact the Onondaga County Health Department’s Division of Environmental Health at 315. 435.1649.