States Declare War on Mosquitoes.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. (CDC See Control Data, century date change and Back Orifice. CDC - Control Data Corporation ) investigators have found detectable levels of genetic material related to the West Nile virus West Nile virus, microorganism and the infection resulting from it, which typically produces no symptoms or a flulike condition. The virus is a flavivirus and is related to a number of viruses that cause encephalitis. (but not the virus itself) in mosquitoes found in the historic Fort Touten's bunkers in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . CDC officials believe this raises the possibility that the virus survived the winter and that the late-summer emerging Culex Culex /Cu·lex/ (ku´leks) a genus of mosquitoes found throughout the world, many species of which are vectors of disease-producing organisms. Cu·lex n. mosquitoes could still be infected. An estimated 1,900 people were unknowingly infected with the virus, 62 people became ill, and seven people died during the outbreak in the New York City area last year. In response, 17 states (Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia) and Washington, D.C., have announced plans and have allocated money for mosquito abatement and surveillance programs. Some of these states also received support from CDC to beef up their activities. Mosquito abatement consists of using chemicals to kill mosquitoes in the early stages of development, when they are most vulnerable. Surveillance consists of trapping mosquitoes, as well as dead and live birds (mosquitoes' primary blood source), to see if the virus is present. (A blood sample is taken from the live birds, then they are released.) Other methods of surveillance include using live chickens as "sentinels"--the birds, which can harbor the virus but don't become ill, are placed in mosquito-prone areas and periodically tested. None of these methods are cheap-- Connecticut earmarked $500,000 in addition to the $1 million already allocated to mosquito control activities for larvicide lar·vi·cide n. An agent that kills insect larvae. lar  vi·cid al adj. alone.
Money may not be the only challenge--finding entomologists trained in mosquito control has been difficult in New York, leading to a backlog in hiring. |
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