Mosquito Tests Positive for West Nile Virus In Pittsfield

03:40PM / Monday, August 19, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed a positive result of West Nile Virus (WNV) in the weekly samples of mosquitoes collected in the City of Pittsfield. One positive sample was taken from the site of Pittsfield Municipal Airport.

At the time of this release, there are no confirmed human cases of WNV but encourage residents to take the following actions:

When you are outdoors, wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and socks. This may be difficult to do when the weather is hot, but it will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.
Use a mosquito repellent (follow manufacturer instructions).
Keep mosquitoes out of your house by repairing any holes in your screens and making sure they are tightly attached to all your doors and windows.
Remove areas of standing water around your home. Here are some suggestions:
- Look around outside your house for containers and other things that might collect water and turn them over, regularly empty them, or dispose of them.
- Clean clogged roof gutters: remove leaves and debris that may prevent drainage of rainwater.
- Turn over plastic wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use.
- Change the water in birdbaths every few days; aerate ornamental ponds or stock them with fish.
- Keep swimming pools clean and properly chlorinated; remove standing water from pool covers.

For more information, please contact the Pittsfield Health Department at (413) 499-9411 or contact the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), Division of Epidemiology and Immunization at (617) 983-6800 or toll-free at (888) 658-2850, or visit the MDPH website: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/west-nile-virus-wnv

Tags: West Nile,

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Pittsfield Parks OKs Annual Events, Hears Wahconah Park Idea

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:11PM / Sunday, February 22, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Parks Commission signed off on some annual city events on Tuesday.

Commissioners approved the 80th annual Eggstravaganza Egg Scramble, the Westside Legends' 6th annual Easter egg hunt, and another lineup of Eagles Band concerts in the park. The Eagles Community Band is in its 90th year.

Pittsfield's 80th egg hunt will be held at The Common on Saturday, April 4 (rain date April 11) from 10 to noon. The free event is open to children ages 2-11 and will feature a balloon artist, a face painter, the Easter bunny, and, of course, plastic eggs filled with small prizes.

The Westside Easter Egg Hunt, organized by the Westside Legends, is on the same day, April 4, from 1 to 3 p.m at Durant Park. It was scheduled to not conflict with the city's event, and will include tabling from community organizations, and some raffles.

City officials are also planning an opportunity to appreciate the Wahconah Park grandstand's century of history in Pittsfield. Demolition is currently out to bid, and prices are expected the first week of March.

"We want to have some conversation around opening up the grandstand one last time for the community to come in and look around and share memories," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath reported.

"I think it would we'd be remiss if we just brought in the wrecking ball and people were like, 'Wait a minute, I didn't have a chance to have one last look out from my favorite spot in the grandstand,' So we're going to figure out how to do that, how to get that done safely, and just how to celebrate this with some folks."

He has been in touch with Larry Moore of Berkshire Baseball to share facts about the park, "and just remind people how much of a storied past Wahconah Park has had, and just keep hope alive for the next iteration of Wahconah Park, whatever that looks like."

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