Eleven new mosquito samples in Suffolk County have tested positive for West Nile virus, county health officials say, a jump that has prompted mosquito spraying on Fire Island and renewed attention to the virus across Long Island as the summer wears on.
According to the Suffolk County Health Department, five of the positive samples were collected in Lindenhurst. The others were gathered in Bayshore, Port Jefferson Station, Setauket, Copiague and West Babylon, spreading the detections across several communities in the county.
The samples that tested positive were collected on July 15 and 16, part of the routine mosquito surveillance that local health departments carry out through the warmer months to track the presence of the virus in the local mosquito population.
Neighboring Nassau County has also recorded positive results. Officials there say three samples have tested positive for West Nile virus, indicating the virus is circulating in mosquitoes on both sides of the Suffolk-Nassau line.
Despite the string of positive mosquito samples, no people have tested positive for the virus so far. Both Nassau and Suffolk say there have been no confirmed human cases at this point, even as the number of infected mosquito batches has grown.
In response, parts of Fire Island are being sprayed for mosquitoes beginning today. The Suffolk County Department of Public Works plans to spray repellent at Atlantique and the Summer Club at 5:30, targeting areas where mosquito activity has been detected.
The spraying will continue at Davis Park in Water Island from 5:30 until 9 the following day. The treatments are part of the county's effort to knock down mosquito populations and limit the chances of the virus spreading to people during the height of the season.