Conneaut health department studying mosquitos
CONNEAUT — The Conneaut Health Department will start studying the city's mosquito population next week.
Conneaut Health Commissioner Nichele Blood said the health department wants to catch mosquitos around the city.
'We set a trap up and it will catch mosquitos for us,' she said.
The mosquitos will then be taken to the health department office and frozen for a day, before being sent to an Ohio Department of Health lab for study.
Blood said they are primarily interested in learning what species of mosquitos reside in the Conneaut area, and if they carry West Nile Virus.
Blood said there have not been any recorded cases of the disease in northeast Ohio recently.
According to the ODH website, there have been no cases of the disease in people or mosquitos surveilled across the state so far this year.
Blood said the Conneaut Health Department is also monitoring for other mosquito-borne illnesses, including Eastern Equine Encephalitis, St. Louis Encephalitis, La Crosse virus, malaria, zika and yellow fever.
'Most are not common,' she said.
The program is being paid for by part of a $8,150 grant the health department received from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The CHD used $5,600 to fund a tire collection at the Conneaut Spring Clean-Up last weekend.
Blood said the rest of the grant money is going toward funding the mosquito surveillance and promoting mosquito awareness in Conneaut.
Blood said mosquitos thrive in areas where there is standing water, especially unused tires.
Blood recommended people take care of items that contain standing water on their properties, including tires, bird baths and toys left outside.
People should also make sure to fix screen doors so mosquitos do not get indoors, and make sure to wear mosquito repellent.
The CHD will be providing mosquito spray to the public and sending out flyers spreading awareness, Blood said.
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