West Nile mosquitoes found in Hastings

HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON - The season's first sign of West Nile virus in Westchester has been found in mosquitos collected in Hastings, the county Health Department said today.

The mosquito batch was collected Aug. 5.

"It's not surprising. We always see positive mosquitos this time of year, so we're right in the ballpark," said Heather McGill, county Health Department spokeswoman.

The department submitted 402 mosquito batches since late May for further testing. The Hastings batch was the first to test positive, McGill said.

West Nile virus tends to peak in late summer. The virus is passed between birds and mosquitoes.

People can get the illness through a bite from an infected mosquito.

But there have been no reported human cases of the virus this season.

Last summer, one Westchester resident died from complications caused by West Nile virus; two residents were diagnosed with the illness.

Six of the 46 people in the state died from the virus, records show.

"Most people who get West Nile recover without long-term effects," McGill said.

Residents are reminded to take precautions such as avoiding the outdoors in the early evening when mosquitos are actively feeding and to use insect repellents with no more than 30 percent DEET when outdoors.

Health Department officials are asking property owners to get rid of all standing water in tin cans, bird feeders, kiddie pools, buckets and ceramic pots.

Westchester County does not spray for mosquitos.

In the spring, county employees applied larvicide to catch basins where mosquitos tend to breed.