PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state Department of Environmental Management said Tuesday that testing of a mosquito pool, or sample, from a trap set in central Tiverton has detected Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
It is the first time this year that EEE has been identified in Rhode Island, although it is presumed likely present in other state areas, the DEM said in a news release. The positive result was from a Culiseta species that feeds almost exclusively on birds.
As a result, the DEM will set extra mosquito traps in the East Bay area.
In Rhode Island EEE has only been found in mosquito species that bite birds, unlike Massachusetts, where EEE has been isolated in mammal-biting mosquito species trapped in numerous locations in southeastern Massachusetts.
The original version of this story was posted at 1:45 p.m