From The Press
August 15, 2019
Last week, the Town of Discovery Bay was swarmed by a scourge of mosquitoes.
Likely hatched in nearby flooded fields, the inland floodwater mosquitoes caused enough trouble to trigger comments on social media pages and forced students at Old River Elementary (ORE) to spend their lunch and recess inside on Wednesday and Thursday.
“The kids (were) getting bit like crazy over here,” said ORE principal Ray Witte. “The kids are having a little bit more reaction to the bites, so we just said we are keeping them inside so they don’t get bit.”
Witte explained that his instructions came from the Knightsen district office, which was in contact with the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District (CCMVCD).
Nola Woods, public affairs director for CCMVCD said the insects are different than the average bloodsuckers that torment East County, but not dangerous.
“This is a mosquito that is an aggressive biter and it will bite during the day and at dusk,” Woods said. “The key thing about this mosquito is that it is not a known vector of West Nile Virus.”