Nassau County completes aerial spraying

UPDATE: 4:30a Thursday Sept. 11, 2008 ...

Nassau County has completed aerial spraying for the West Nile virus, according to the county Department of Health. Spraying by truck in Woodmere and Glen Head was completed last week. Residents are urged to remain vigilant and to remove standing water from around their homes to prevent additional mosquito breeding. Mosquitoes will continue to be active until the weather becomes cold enough to have two overnight frosts, the health department cautioned,.

Nassau County reschedules aerial spraying

Issue of Sept. 12, 2008

Nassau County was forced to postpone the aerial pesticide spraying scheduled for Sept. 4 due to high winds and adverse weather conditions.

The new spraying – which will be done by helicopter – was rescheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 10, at approximately 6:30 p.m., pending favorable weather conditions, with the alternate date set for Thursday, Sept. 11, no earlier than 9 p.m.

“This week, as of Sept. 9, one additional probable human case has been reported, for a total of 11 human cases of West Nile virus,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Maria Torroella Carney. “These 11 include three fatalities. Of these 11, six have been confirmed, four are probable cases and one is under investigation.”

Carney also reported that six more mosquito pools tested positive for West Nile virus, totaling 55 positive pools in the county.

Places to be sprayed aerially include the areas encompassed by the Long Island Expressway, the Southern State Parkway, the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway and the Queens border between the LIE and the Southern State.

The Nassau County Department of Public Works sprayed pesticides throughout the Five Towns in a ground spraying on Sept. 4 to help control mosquitoes that may be carrying West Nile virus. The spraying was completed between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. in the Woodmere and Glen Head communities, as well as in parts of Cedarhurst, Lawrence, Woodsburgh and the Hewlett villages.

“This is a potentially deadly virus and we have to do what we need to do to keep the public as safe as possible from that,” said Legislator Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside.) “The department typically monitors areas of mosquito populations throughout the summer months and typically at this time of the year, the positive hits for infected mosquitoes should be going down, and in the last round of testing, the positive hits have gone up and that is why they’re doing the spraying.”

Though the test site was in Woodmere, other surrounding areas were also included in the spraying, “and everyone who lived on a block that got sprayed got called in advance,” Toback said.

During the Sept. 4 ground spraying, a truck traveled through the streets spraying Scourge, a pesticide containing resmethrin and piperonyl butoxide. Resmethrin is an insecticide that is used to control ticks and other insects, such as fleas and ants. Piperonyl butoxide does not directly kill insects on its own, but acts to increase the ability of resmethrin to kill them.

The pesticide is not expected to affect residents, as long as they had limited exposure to it at the time of the spraying.”

“The chance of anyone experiencing health effects is quite low,” Toback noted.

Residents, especially pregnant women and children were advised to remain inside during the spraying and for 30 minutes afterward. Since the effects dissipated after a few hours, there was no need to wash off any outdoor furniture or playground equipment before use, although doing so does not diminish the pesticide’s effectiveness.

Though Nassau County routinely sprays aerially in marsh areas and swamps, the last ground spraying occurred almost a decade ago, in 1999, according to Toback.

“We are hoping that we don’t have to do it more than once,” he added. “We test all the time, so over the next several days, we will expect to not see the number of incidents we have seen.”

West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne infection that can cause serious illness, and in some cases, death. The

Department of Health recently issued a call for increased vigilance in preventing mosquito bites and eliminating mosquito-breeding sites. Reducing the mosquito population around your home and property by eliminating all standing water — in locations such as pools, trash cans, containers, used tires and roof gutters — can help protect against the virus.

For additional information, call the West Nile Virus Mosquito Control Hotline at 1-888-844-8657, open Wednesdays from 12:00 noon until 11:00 p.m. and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. You can access the Nassau County Department of Health website at www.nassaucounty.gov/agencies/health.