St. Tammany gets early start to fight West Nile this season

SLIDELL SENTRY-NEWS

SLIDELL -- The mosquitos are back, and so are their killers.

With spring just around the corner, Louisiana's mosquito season has returned, and the St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement District is prepared for the West Nile virus, according to Director Chuck Palmisano.

The district began preparing to protect the parish from the West Nile virus on Feb. 2, concentrating on controlling the southern house mosquito, a primary carrier of the virus. The district targets the breed by attacking the larvae in roadside ditches before the larvae has a chance to become adult mosquitos.

"Although populations of this mosquito are very low," Palmisano reported, "we wanted to get an early start in an aggressive approach so as to prevent a large buildup of these mosquitoes which normally happens in April and May."

The West Nile outbreak first hit St. Tammany in 2002, with 40 parish residents discovered to have the virus and four people who died from the disease. Last year, the impact was much less severe, with only six confirmed human cases in the parish and no deaths.

"We fully expect to deal with it [West Nile virus] again," said Palmisano, "as to what level, I really can't say, but we're fully prepared for it."

Surveillance is one measure the district takes to protect people from the disease. The surveillance program is designed to detect and monitor virus activity throughout the parish. It acts as an early warning system so the district can respond before humans become infected. The district monitors the West Nile virus by testing live caught mosquitos, analyzing blood samples from chickens throughout the parish and collecting dead bird data provided by the state health department.

So far this year, no mosquitos have tested positive for West Nile, and there have been no reports of West Nile in dead birds. Chicken blood sampling will begin this month.

Mosquito activity is expected to increase in the coming weeks, as warmer temperatures stimulate mosquito activity.

"We're in our season now," said Palmisano.

The district will soon begin to spray "ultra low volumes" of pesticides on the ground and in the air to target adult mosquitos. All materials used by the district are approved and labeled by the Environmental Protection Agency. The district reports that the chemicals it uses do not pose any threat to humans or animals when used according to labeled directions.

Homeowners are urged to check their property for any containers that may hold water and breed mosquitos. One of the potential carriers for West Nile virus is the Asian tiger mosquito which breeds in containers that hold water such as tires, vases, cans, buckets, bowls and other objects. Homeowners should either cover such containers so they will not collect water or remove them.