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Conneaut health commissioner reports no West Nile in local traps; ticks and rabies baits highlighted
Summary
Conneaut City Health Commissioner Nichele Blood told Council traps caught 285 mosquitoes in 2025 with no local positives for West Nile; she urged precautions against ticks, noted rising Lyme reports statewide, and warned residents not to handle distributed rabies baits.
Nichele Blood, Conneaut City Health Commissioner, told the Conneaut City Council on April 27 that mosquito surveillance last year found 285 mosquitoes across seven trap locations and that none of those tested positive for West Nile virus. "In 2025, there were 45 cases of West Nile in the State of Ohio," she said, clarifying those were human cases. She added that a mosquito in nearby Ashtabula County did test positive.
Blood described a mosquito trap she brought to the meeting and said the Health Department is seeking public input via an online survey to identify high‑traffic mosquito areas for trap placement. She also said the department received the Mosquito Control Grant from the Ohio EPA and will use grant funds to support a tire take‑back program intended to reduce breeding habitat.
On ticks, Blood said 137 Lyme disease cases have been reported to the Ohio Department of Health so far this year and provided historical counts to illustrate a trend (2010: 40; 2020: 400; 2025: 2,800). "Protect your skin when in the woods, wear repellant and check for ticks when coming inside," she advised, and said the Health Department is distributing free "tick kits" made possible by a donation.
She also warned about bait distributed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to control wildlife rabies: the baits are intended for wildlife consumption and should not be handled. Blood cautioned that contact with the liquid in a bait can cause a reaction and that pets consuming multiple baits could experience side effects.
The Health Department's update included recommendations for resident precautions and information on where to obtain tick kits; no Council action was taken during the meeting.
