As
mosquito season peaks, states are rushing to establish mosquito
control programs in the wake of 2002’s deadly outbreaks
of West Nile virus. Most states responded to the onset of
West Nile with extensive spraying of potentially ecologically
and physiologically harmful chemicals. However, many organizations
propose different methods for controlling West Nile, targeting
breading areas and larval mosquitoes instead of spraying
that targets adult mosquitoes. The majority of current state
legislation addressing West Nile seeks to establish appropriations
and plans for future targeting of the virus. This section
gives an in-depth, state-by-state report of current actions
states are taking to combat West Nile virus.
8/8/03 Post and Courier: West
Nile cases triple since last week, CDC chief says -
West Nile virus cases have tripled since last week, a top
U.S. health official said Thursday, warning that this year
may surpass last year’s record numbers. “The
numbers are starting to change very, very quickly,”
said Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. “That is very concerning.”
Alabama
10/4/02 Montgomery Advertiser: West Nile Reports Increase
- Nine additional cases of West Nile virus infection have
been reported by the Alabama Department of Public Health.
9/20/02 Anniston Star: Human
West Nile cases in Alabama rise to 24 - The human cases
of West Nile virus in Alabama have grown to 24, with two
more cases in Montgomery County and the first illness recorded
in Etowah County.
9/13/02 Mobile Register: State Speeds Up West Nile Test
Results - Doctors on Thursday said a 67-year-old woman with
the West Nile virus in Mobile County was on her way to a
full recovery, demonstrating that people classified as high-risk
can recover from the infection.
8/8/02 Birmingham News: West Nile Found in Alabama Resident:
Siegelman Orders Help in Mosquito Spraying - Alabama has
reported its first human case of West Nile virus this year,
prompting Gov. Don Siegelman to order the Alabama National
Guard to help spray for mosquitoes that spread the disease.
Arkansas
8/22/02 Log Cabin Democrat: All
75 counties apply for West Nile funds - All 75 of Arkansas’
counties had applied by deadline Wednesday for part of the
state’s $1 million to fight the spread of the mosquito-borne
West Nile virus.
8/14/02 Times Record: CDC
Experts Lend Hand In Battle - Two experts with the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention arrived in Arkansas Tuesday
to help the state Health Department control the spread of
the mosquito-borne West Nile virus.
8/8/02 Arkansas News Bureau: West
Nile Virus Prompts $1 Million for Mosquito Abatement
- Gov. Mike Huckabee announced Wednesday that he’ll
use $1 million in state funds to kill mosquitoes as the
West Nile virus expands into Arkansas.
California
AB
1454 West Nile Protection and Control Act of 2003 -
This bill would require the director of the Department of
Pesticide Regulation, in considering the new or continued
registration of, or any regulatory action involving, any
pesticide registered for use for, and used predominantly
in, public health programs for vector control or other health
protection uses, to weigh the risks of the use of the public
health pesticide against the health risks to be controlled,
or the human health protection benefits to be provided,
by use of the public health pesticide.
The director would be required to consult with the Director
of the State Department of Health Services and to conduct
studies, as specified, with respect to the risks and benefits
of the new or continued registration of any public health
pesticide.
ACR
52 (2003) Mosquito and Vector Control and West Nile
Virus Awareness Week - Designates April 28 through May 4,
2003, as West Nile Virus Awareness Week. During this week,
the state will act to increase public awareness about the
threat.
9/7/02 San Francisco Chronicle: Nile
virus sneaks into state: Woman tests positive; ‘sentinel’
system foiled - A Los Angeles County woman has tested
positive for West Nile virus, the mosquito-borne disease
from the Middle East and Africa that turned up in New York
City three years ago and has been spreading across the country
ever since.
8/6/02 San Francisco Chronicle: Chickens
on guard for West Nile virus: State using birds as early
warning system - Just as the fabled Minutemen stood
guard against the redcoats, California is bracing for the
West Nile virus with its own flock of special sentinels
– chickens.
Hawaii
9/11/02 Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Isles
ready battle plan for West Nile virus - West Nile virus
could finish off dwindling populations of the state’s
29 endangered species of birds, wildlife biologists warn.
Idaho
SB
1162 (2003) - Amends existing law to exempt pest control
and mosquito abatement from the three percent cap from moneys
raised by property taxes, upon a public hearing being held
and a determination that the public health or economic interests
could be adversely affected by insects or by invasive species.
Illinois
3/26/03 Quad-City Times: Tire-sales
fees might increase to fight West Nile virus - Fees
on tire sales in Illinois would rise by 50 cents to fight
the spread of the West Nile virus under legislation approved
Wednesday in the Illinois Senate.
3/9/03 Quad-City Times: Illinois
gears up to avoid West Nile repeat - The memory of last
year’s deadly summer burned though the winter for
public health officials across Illinois.
SB
361 (Used Tire Fee Increase) - This 2003 bill amends
the Environmental Protection Act; increases the fee for
retail sale of tires by 50 cents, which shall be distributed
to the Department of Public Health; and, amends the Department
of Public Health Act to provide that the increase in the
fee shall be distributed to county health departments based
on the population of the county for expenses related to
the West Nile Virus.
Louisiana
8/5/03 Daily Star: Local
officials find West Nile virus in three pools - The
West Nile virus has been found in three mosquito “pools”
in the southern end of Tangipahoa Parish and also in some
birds in the northern end of the parish. But so far there
are no reports of any suspected human West Nile cases in
the parish, according Dennis Wallette, director of the parish’s
Mosquito Abatement District No. 1.
6/20/03 Shreveport Times: New
test speeds up West Nile identification - Mosquito control
crews in about one-third of Louisiana’s parishes have
a new weapon against West Nile virus - a test that can tell,
in less than half an hour, whether mosquitoes or birds are
infected.
3/21/03 Times-Picayune: Residents Told to Watch the Birdie
- Rainy weather and rising temperatures have prompted state
officials to renew their efforts to detect the mosquito-borne
West Nile virus by monitoring Louisiana’s bird population.
10/11/02 Daily Star: Mosquitoes,
WNV questions abound - A deluge of bold and hungry mosquitoes
has followed the recent storms, but cooler night temperatures
next week could drastically reduce their numbers for as
long as the cooler air lasts. That doesn’t mean the
threat of West Nile virus will disappear entirely this winter,
officials say.
9/13/02 Daily Star: West Nile Virus: We’re
not out of woods yet - With the number of new West Nile
virus cases dropping, Louisiana is seeing some progress
on its war on mosquitoes, but this is not the time for citizens
to relax the effort. Indeed, state epidemiologist Dr. Raoult
Ratard told the Associated Press this is a very dangerous
time because the declining rate of cases may give people
a false assurance.
9/9/02 The Advocate (Baton Rouge): Concerns grow about
insecticide use - Is the cure worse than the disease?: That’s
a question many have asked when it comes to the massive
insecticide spraying programs undertaken across South Louisiana
to kill mosquitoes that could carry the West Nile virus.
8/15/02 Times-Picayune: State Will Go into the Red to Combat
West Nile - Louisiana will go into debt temporarily to help
battle West Nile virus, officials said Wednesday, noting
that the usually forbidden financial tactic is allowed when
the governor declares emergency.
8/14/02 Times-Picayune: Air Force May Help With Spraying
- State and federal officials are considering whether to
use two Air Force Reserve airplanes equipped to spray insecticide
to help kill mosquitoes in an ongoing battle to squash West
Nile virus.
8/6/02 The Advocate (Baton Rouge): Congressional Delegation
Set to Battle West Nile - Louisiana’s members of Congress
are pleading the case for an immediate federal assault on
West Nile virus, and one has ordered his staff to prepare
for committee hearings in September on mosquito-borne diseases.
8/2/02 Times-Picayune: Federal Money Sought to Swat West
Nile - Hoping to get as much as $5 million in federal money
to battle the West Nile virus, Gov. Foster said he will
declare a state of emergency throughout the state today.
Mississippi
3/25/03 Clarion-Ledger: State Readies for West Nile Fight
- The peak season of West Nile is fast approaching, and
state health officials and Mississippi citizens are preparing
to fight virus-carrying mosquitoes.
3/12/03 Clarion-Ledger: Officials Prep for Round 2 with
Virus - Mississippi health officials are girding for another
season of fighting West Nile virus, starting with a public
education campaign.
9/26/02 Clarion-Ledger: Health Department Seeks West Nile
Aid - The Mississippi Department of Health wants the legislature
to help cities and counties with their mosquito spraying
budgets next year to stave off the West Nile virus.
8/30/02 Clarion-Ledger: Money Crucial in West Nile Fight,
Official Said - State Health Officer Ed Thompson says communication
about the West Nile virus is only part of the prevention
network Mississippi needs in its battle with the mosquito-transmitted
disease.
8/29/02 Log Cabin Democrat: $8.1 Million To Fight Virus
Sought - Gov. Ronnie Musgrove has appealed a federal decision
to deny Mississippi emergency funding to help in its fight
against the West Nile virus.
8/28/02 Clarion-Ledger: State Wages War on Virus - Mosquito
spray is only one weapon in the state’s arsenal against
West Nile virus. Door-to-door surveys, billboards, radio
and television public service announcements, pamphlets,
and 1.5 million door hangers will all fire away at the virus
and the mosquitoes that spread it.
Nebraska
3/25/03 The Independent: West
Nile again a summer concern in Nebraska - The prevalence
of West Nile virus in Nebraska last year led to additional
federal funds this year to monitor the virus and educate
the public about its dangers.
3/21/03 Lincoln Journal Star: State to Track Spread of
West Nile Disease - Nebraska will use a $300,000 federal
grant to help pinpoint areas of the state that may have
more mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus, which last
year killed eight Nebraskans.
3/20/03 Omaha World-Herald - A $300,000 federal grant announced
Wednesday will help Nebraska create a more useful warning
system for the return of West Nile virus this summer.
New Jersey
S
1404 (2002) Requires the department of transportation
to conduct mosquito abatement on all storm drainage facilities,
ditches, and detention and retention facilities.
A
2208, S 1603 (2002) - Requires the development of a
plan to address and control the presence of West Nile virus;
establishes minimum standards for county mosquito control
plans, including source reduction, water management, surveillance,
public notification, and integrated mosquito management;
requires each county to develop a mosquito monitoring and
control plan; and, establishes a fund for research and development
of mosquito control plans.
7/11/02 Star-Ledger: DEP Helps Counties Fight West Nile
- The state Department of Environmental Protection awarded
a total of $2.4 million in grants yesterday to nine counties
to help them clean up piles of discarded, scrap tires that
can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying the
West Nile virus.
New York
A 6726 (2001) - Tire stockpiles provide ideal mosquito breading
grounds. Strict enforcement of proper management regarding
tires is necessary.
A 7320 (2001) - State aid for mosquito control, 75% reimbursement
to counties/ municipalities control for public health, educate
public, mosquito abatement (fish, pesticides, larvasides,
dragonflies).
6/12/03 Times Herald-Record: West
Nile virus now part of summer in New York - …West
Nile virus is now part of the summer landscape regardless
of the weather. In the next few weeks, as mosquito season
gets perking, birds, humans, and some other mammals will
be at risk.
North Dakota
8/13/02 Grand Forks Herald: State Group to Pool Info on
West Nile Virus - Mosquito control officials and the state
Health Department will be pooling their knowledge about
how to kill mosquitoes and slow the spread of the West Nile
virus, Gov. John Hoeven said Monday.
Pennsylvania
8/13/02 Philadelphia Inquirer: Vigilance Urged on West Nile
- Calling it a “war on mosquitoes,” state officials
have stepped up efforts to combat the deadly West Nile virus
and are enlisting the help of residents to prevent its spread.
South Carolina
1/15/03 Post and Courier: State
braces for West Nile onslaught - West Nile virus could
hit South Carolina even harder this year than last, when
the potentially deadly virus was confirmed in this state
for the first time.
9/9/02 The State (Columbia, SC): South Carolina Beekeepers
Worry About Mosquito Spraying - Beekeepers in South Carolina
are worried about new spraying for mosquitoes because of
fears about the West Nile virus.
9/6/02 The State (Columbia, SC): DHEC to Concentrate on
Testing Humans - With the West Nile virus confirmed in both
birds and humans in South Carolina, the state’s public
health laboratory will concentrate on testing human samples
rather than birds.
8/14/02 The State (Columbia, SC): West Nile Virus Hits
SC: Officials Ready to Fight It - Local government and public
health officials need the public’s help in limiting
the spread of West Nile virus after South Carolina’s
first case was confirmed Tuesday.
Texas
8/21/02 Star-Telegram: State’s top health official
tells people not to panic over West Nile - Two days after
health officials announced the first probable West Nile-related
death in the state, Texas Health Commissioner Eduardo Sanchez
on Wednesday urged people to stay vigilant, take precautions,
and avoid panic when it comes to the emerging infection.
8/16/02 Austin American-Statesman: Repelling the West Nile
virus - Texas is getting $1.3 million from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention to help detect and combat
the West Nile virus.
6/10/02 Dallas Morning News: State urges West Nile precautions:
Officials say repellents can help prevent mosquito-borne
virus - State health officials are advising outdoor enthusiasts
to take precautions as the deadly West Nile virus continues
its march toward Texas.
Washington
3/24/03 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: West
Nile plans being hatched - Residents here have donned
gas masks and carted canaries to public meetings to protest
spraying of chemical herbicides on county roads. Now, they’re
gearing up to fight a proposed new taxing district that
would raise money to kill mosquitoes on county property
and private yards.
Wyoming
12/23/02 Rocky Mountain News: Wyoming
ponders panel for pest fight - The Wyoming Department
of Agriculture is seeking $5 million from the legislature
for an emergency management program to combat West Nile
virus and other diseases.
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