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DARIEN, Conn. Town Director of Health David Knauf said West Nile is not a threat even though the state Department of Public Health last week trapped mosquitoes in Bridgeport that tested positive for the virus.
"It's good to be aware of it, but the chances of contracting the disease are very small," Knauf said. Last year, only 11 people in the state of Connecticut were diagnosed with West Nile virus. No cases were reported in 2009, and only seven cases were seen in 2008.
Knauf said three West Nile-related deaths had been reported in past 10 years in Connecticut. Even in areas where mosquitoes carry the virus, only one in 500 is infected. And the chances of contracting the disease after being bitten by an infected mosquito are one in 300.
"West Nile virus got a lot of national attention a few years ago because it was a relatively new disease that was emerging from the South," Knauf said. However, in his three years with the Darien Health Department, he has not seen a single case.
Knauf said many people also worry about Lyme disease, which affects more people. Concerned Darien residents have brought 105 ticks to the Health Department this year to be sent to the state for Lyme disease testing. Of those 105, only four have come back positive.
"While it's there, it's not like every tick that's being brought in is infected," Knauf said. The Health Department will send any tick to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station for testing for free. The process takes three to four weeks. If a resident is especially anxious for results, he or she can pay $60 to have it sent to a lab in Greenwich, which will return results in about a week.
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