Providence Journal 8/28/00 Back

•All of Newport and part of Middletown are among the areas that state and municipal officials say will be sprayed tonight to control the mosquito-borne West Nile virus.

NEWPORT - Ground spraying of pesticides will begin tonight in Middletown, Newport and Westerly after the discovery Saturday of West Nile virus in two dead crows.

These are the second and third cases of West Nile in the state. Earlier this month, a crow in Warwick was found to be infected with the virus.

On Aug. 16, an American crow was found along Cliff Terrace, Newport, and the next day one at 33 Sherwood Drive, Westerly. The birds were tested at the University of Rhode Island's virology laboratory, and state and local officials received notification Saturday night.

Jan H. Reitsma, the director of the state Department of Environmental Management, said the virus outbreaks are not widespread and local officials are dealing with the problem, with assistance from DEM.

"There is no need to panic," he said. "We have been planning for this for months."

Reitsma and numerous state and local officials, at a news conference yesterday, emphasized that the best protection against the virus is that taken by individuals. Many officials wore white pins with a drawing of a mosquito saying "Protect Yourself."

Westerly Town Administrator Pam Nolan said people should use common sense and bug repellent when going outside and wear pants and long sleeves.

Two trucks will spray 83 miles of road within a two-mile radius of Sherwood Drive in Westerly.

Newport City Manager Michael D. Mallinoff said the city will go beyond the two-mile radius and spray all 95 miles of road within the city, using three trucks. Mallinoff said if the spraying is not completed tonight, the city would resume again tomorrow night.

Middletown will spray a small section of town the area that is within two miles of Cliff Terrace.

All three towns plan to start spraying At 7 p.m. and finish by midnight. Vehicles, with flashing lights and bull horns, will make announcements on streets several minutes prior to spraying.

Ken Ayars, chief of the DEM's division of agriculture, said that spraying would not occur within 300 feet of any farmland or open water, such as reservoirs and rivers.

The pesticide being supplied by DEM is Sumithrin, which is also used in pet shampoos, flea sprays and household insect sprays. Officials say it kills the mosquitoes and dissipates within minutes.

Reitsma said the cost of the pesticide, which DEM is covering, is about $300,000. There are additional costs - mostly labor - that are being picked up by the towns.

DEM and the Department of Health recommend that people avoid direct contact with the pesticide, stay inside during the spraying and for at least 10 minutes afterward, close all windows and turn off air conditioners.

In Newport, the concern over the virus and spraying has affected two recreational activities. Susan Cooper, director of parks, recreation and tourism, said that the Sunset League baseball finals, yesterday, and the men's softball finals, tonight, were both postponed.

Reitsma said DEM has received calls of hundreds of dead birds, but so far only these three cases have tested positive for the virus. No mosquitoes trapped by the DEM have tested positive for the virus.

With the first serious frost not forecasted until October, officials said that West Nile remains a concern.

The West Nile virus is named after the West Nile region of Uganda, where it was first isolated in 1937. West Nile virus is most commonly found in Africa, West Asia and the Middle East.

Last year, when scientists first detected the virus in the United States, seven people died from encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain caused by West Nile. All of the

deaths were in the New York metropolitan area.

This year there have been three confirmed cases, all in New York and none of them fatal. Most people who contract the virus feel flu-like effects and recover.

The virus has also been detected this year in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

People infected with West Nile can abruptly develop a fever and other influenza-like symptoms such as headaches, a sore throat, backaches, pain in the muscles and joints, and fatigue.

Sometimes patients develop a rash and swollen lymph nodes. Rarely, in the most severe cases, meningitis or encephalitis can develop, leading to death. Children, the elderly and people with immune deficiencies are at the greatest risk.

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Posted by Anthony Benoit abenoit@trcc.commnet.edu
Environmental Engineering Technology at Three Rivers