Record-Breaking Year For Mosquitoes

iBerkshires.com is reporting a record year for the local mosquito population in Berkshire County.

And residents have taken note. Over the last week, the Health Department the Berkshire County Mosquito Control Project had fielded hundreds of calls from residents about high population numbers.

West Nile was confirmed Thursday in another sampling of mosquitoes in the area, raising the number of positive samples to 20 in recent weeks. While no human in Berkshire County has tested positive, there have been nine human and two animal cases in the state.

It is approaching peak mosquito season and the population has been particularly high right now because of flooding in mid-August. Horton said a rainstorm on Aug. 18 caused the Housatonic River to overflow into the floodplain from Pittsfield all the way to the Connecticut border.

About a week later, thousands upon thousands of mosquitoes rose from the riverbanks and by a week after that, they've migrated into neighborhoods to feast.

About 20 percent of infected people will have symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph glands, skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. One percent of infected people will develop severe illness but the majority of people who are infected will not have symptoms.