Mosquito News & Information
History providing a first-ever chance to promote mosquito control methods
The swarm of media attention given to last year's West Nile virus outbreak grants mosquito control professionals a rare opportunity to promote their control methods.
Many mosquito control professionals will be on center stage this season. With the eyes of the public–and the media–focused squarely on them, they have an opportunity to make a lasting statement about the benefits they provide to much of the country. It's an unprecedented chance to gain widespread acceptance, even endorsement, of mosquito control measures.
In the recent past, the public regarded mosquitoes as, at worst, a severe annoyance. Public complaints were largely confined to areas closest to mosquito breeding grounds, places where thick swarms of blood-sucking bugs overran residential neighborhoods and recreation facilities. However, demands for mosquito control were often met by equally earnest concerns about potential damage to natural areas and the perceived risks of insecticide use.
Decades ago, mosquitoes were more than a nuisance. But back then, when mosquito-borne diseases were common, insect control had not yet advanced to large-scale habitat management and chemical applications. Instead, medical treatments were offered to help the public endure the onslaught of malaria, yellow fever and other illnesses.
Disease-carrying mosquitoes have spurred opportunities to promote control measures.
Last summer's outbreak of the West Nile virus in New York has once again made mosquitoes a public health concern. Debates about control measures are centering on public safety, not just the ability to picnic in peace. Mosquito control professionals could very well find local sentiment solidly on their side.
Mosquitoes spread the West Nile virus, which had never before been seen in the Western Hemisphere. More than 100 people were infected by the virus, scores were hospitalized with high fever and brain swelling, and seven people died.
Health officials and legislators across the United States took notice. The impact is being felt nationwide, as local and state governments decide how to prevent similar outbreaks of serious, mosquito-borne disease.
New York's health commissioner has assured the public that the state will take steps to prevent a recurrence of the outbreak this season. The state Assembly has set aside $70,000 for a forum to discuss possible action against the virus. The county executive in New York's Westchester County, which was hit hard by the West Nile virus, has allocated $250,000 for mosquito control in the annual budget.
In nearby Connecticut, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is meeting to determine the steps needed to prevent an outbreak of mosquito-borne illnesses. Although no cases of West Nile virus were reported in humans in that state, hundreds of birds, mostly crows, died from the virus last year. Mosquitoes are known to pick up the virus from birds, and a repeat of last summer's scenario could put people in danger.
The DEP is considering asking municipalities to pay for larviciding to control the risk, and one proposal would have the state contribute $2 million toward development of a mosquito control program. The plan includes mosquito monitoring and larviciding along a 62-mile corridor from Greenwich to Madison. The proposal contains an $800,000 contingency fund for larviciding and adulticide spraying in additional towns, if necessary. In a development symbolizing the change in attitude due to the West Nile outbreak, a spokesperson for the Sierra Club conceded the viability of larvicides in the Connecticut proposal.
Local authorities in several communities have said they will act on their own if the state does not provide assistance. In one Connecticut community, proposals from private companies for mosquito control programs have already been welcomed.
Concern has reached all the way across the country. In Oregon, local vector-control officials are asking the state for additional financial support. News reports point out that one species of mosquito, Aedes sierrensi, is being blamed for infecting dogs with parasites. Though not previously found in the Portland area, three cases of the canine disease have been discovered during the past two years, evidence of the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses, according to published reports.
Even federal officials are becoming involved in the issue. After the West Nile virus was found in a dead crow in Baltimore, a U.S. government lab began testing crows in Maryland. A state official said the virus probably could survive the winter in hibernating mosquitoes and dormant eggs to re-emerge this spring.
Given the genuine, and deserved, alarm over mosquito-borne diseases, stepped-up control programs are a virtual certainty this season. News coverage of the problem is just as sure to continue.
A comprehensive program should integrate abatement efforts, including habitat management and an assortment of reliable larvicide products, to meet various application needs. The numerous formulations of Altosid® products from Zoëcon are designed to provide effectiveness and flexibility for a wide range of circumstances.