Officials: Mosquitoes with West Nile found at Beardsley Zoo

BRIDGEPORT — After the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station recently announced mosquitoes with West Nile virus were detected in five more areas, officials have confirmed the virus was found in insects at the Beardsley Zoo.

In a statement on Wednesday, the city’s Department of Public Health said West Nile virus was uncovered among a sample of mosquitoes collected by the station at the Beardsley Zoo.

Ebony Jackson-Shaheed, the city’s director of health, urged residents to get educated on how to prevent getting bit.

This comes a week after the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station announced that West Nile had been found in mosquitoes trapped and tested in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien, New Haven and Waterford. The station had previously announced the presence of virus-carrying mosquitoes in Milford and South Windsor so far this year.

West Nile virus is typically spread to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito and could cause West Nile fever, which includes symptoms like body aches, joint pain and rashes.

City officials urged residents to avoid getting bitten by infected mosquitoes by minimizing time outside around dusk and dawn — when the insect is most active — and to consider using DEET-containing mosquito repellent when spending time outside.

The city said it’s Department of Environmental Health will keep treating high-risk areas in Bridgeport, like catch basins, to get rid of potential mosquito breeding grounds. Mosquitoes often breed in standing water.

For more information, visit BridgeportCT.gov/ FightTheBite.

Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo A sample of water with mosquito larvae, taken in the woods near Eisenhower Park in Milford in 2017. This year, mosquitoes with West Nile virus have been detected in at least eight communities — most recently, Bridgeport.