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9.23.2000 00:15
Mosquitoes test negative for viruses, DEM says
Test results on 63 pools of mosquitoes collected from 24 traps set statewide on Sept. 11 all tested negative for the West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis, the DEM announced yesterday.
Results were received Wednesday from the University of Rhode Island.
The results on 80 pools collected from 39 traps set on Sept. 18 are expected to be available on Thursday.
The DEM is reminding residents to take personal precautions to avoid mosquito bites, and to prevent mosquito breeding grounds around their homes. It is especially important to be cautious now that evening temperatures are cooler, the DEM said, because -- although the mosquito population is still high -- the colder weather makes it difficult to conduct ground-spraying. The DEM calls for ground-spraying in a two-mile radius of a finding of the West Nile virus.
Since it began testing for the mosquito-borne virus over the summer, seven dead birds and one horse have tested positive for the West Nile. The horse was euthanized. Two birds tested positive for EEE.
A total of 139 birds have been tested since May, and results for another 36 birds are pending, the DEM reported.
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