West Nile-positive mosquitoes found in Cupertino

CUPERTINO — Santa Clara County Vector Control District crews this week will be spraying an area of Cupertino after finding mosquitoes that tested positive for West Nile virus there, district officials said Tuesday.

The spraying of insecticide from truck-mounted equipment will start around 10 p.m. Thursday in parts of the 95014 ZIP code and conclude a few hours later, according to the district.

Residents do not need to relocate during the spraying, because it poses only minimal risk to people, pets and the environment, officials said. But if people want to take extra precautions, they can keep themselves and pets inside during the spraying, and close their doors and windows.

The spraying follows similar actions in recent weeks, including spraying that took place last week in parts of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and San Jose because of infected mosquitoes.

District officials say it is common to see an increase in West Nile virus activity during the summer because mosquitoes thrive in hot weather. Truck-mounted spraying has taken place in the county since 2003 to reduce the population of mosquitoes that can spread the virus.

The district usually tries to manage local mosquito populations by preventing the insects from reaching adulthood by targeting eggs, larvae, and pupae, district officials said. But when the district finds a mosquito infected with West Nile virus, it begins spraying to reduce the adult mosquito population in the area.