The State Mosquito Management Program announced Thursday that mosquitoes trapped in five more towns tested positive for West Nile virus.

These results represent the first positive mosquitoes identified in Chester, Bridgeport, Greenwich, Norwalk, and Stratford by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station this year.

The mosquitoes were trapped from July 30 to Aug. 5. 

Thus far this summer, West Nile virus-positive mosquitoes have now been identified in a total of 11 towns: Waterford, Bridgeport, Chester, Darien, Guilford, Greenwich, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford and West Haven.

“We are seeing an increase in the number of mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus with expansion into new locations especially in coastal Fairfield and New Haven counties,” Philip Armstrong, medical entomologist at the experiment station, said in a news release. "This is the most critical time of summer when virus activity reaches its peak in the mosquito population." 

Theodore Andreadis, cirector of the Center for Vector Biology & Zoonotic Diseases at the experiment station, said August and September are the months when people are at greatest risk for West Nile virus infection.

“With higher temperatures and recent rainfall this past week, we anticipate further build-up of the virus in mosquitoes," he said. "We strongly encourage people in affected communities to take simple steps to prevent mosquito bites, such as using insect repellent and covering bare skin, especially during dusk and dawn when biting mosquitoes are most active.”

The Connecticut Mosquito Management Program is a collaborative effort involving the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Agriculture, and the University of Connecticut Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science.

The experiment station maintains a network of 91 mosquito-trapping stations in 72 municipalities throughout the state.

For information on West Nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis viruses and how to prevent mosquito bites, visit www.ct.gov/mosquito.