Saugus warns of West Nile Virus

SAUGUS – Saugus Public Health Director Frank Giacalone said that while there have been no positive tests for West Nile Virus in Saugus, he warned the breed of mosquito that carries it is “here.”?Weather plays a factor and basically if there?s water, you?re going to get a mosquito population, no matter how little,” said Giacalone. “When people think of mosquitoes, there?s a number of different types of mosquitoes. We target those that carry the West Nile here.”Giacalone said the Northeast Mosquito Control has started testing in five areas around Saugus, including behind Riverside Cemetery, where a positive test was found last year.?They have started doing the surveillance and they haven?t found any positives, but they did find that there is a mosquito population out there,” he said. “They monitor those and every Friday they get the results, and they also treat for the greenheads in the salt marsh and they?re treating the catch basins as well. We?re doing everything behind the scenes to get the population down, but the public is going to have to do their due diligence.”Giacalone said this includes making sure any standing water, like in bird baths, gutters or barrels, is emptied.Last year the Massachusetts Department of Public Health raised the threat level for West Nile Virus in Saugus to “high” after there were three positive tests for the virus last summer.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].