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news
release |
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ANDREW J.
SPANO, Westchester County Executive JOSHUA
LIPSMAN, M.D., M.P.H., Commissioner of Health SUSAN TOLCHIN,
Director of Communications |
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CONTACT:
SUSAN TOLCHIN
(914) 285-2932
MARY LANDRIGAN
(914) 637-4715
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2000
REVISED SPRAY SCHEDULE FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 21
Irvington Added to the List of Communities to be sprayed on August 21
Two More Birds Test Positive for West Nile Virus
The Westchester County Department of Health today reconfirmed that the communities of Rye Brook, Port Chester, Mount Vernon, Pelham Manor and Pelham Village are scheduled to be re-sprayed for adult mosquitoes on Monday, August 21st, between the hours of 11:30pm and 4:30 am. In addition, Irvington has also been scheduled for ground spraying on Monday, August 21st.
If conditions do not permit the spraying of these communities to be completed on Monday, August 21st, spraying is scheduled to be completed on Wednesday, August 23rd.
The
Westchester County Department of Health was notified by the New York State
Department of Health that two more birds have tested positive for West Nile
virus. The two new positive birds
are both blue jays. One blue jay
was collected from Ardsley and the other blue jay was collected from New
Castle. Both of these new birds
were collected prior to ground spraying operations in those
communities. However, since Irvington has never been sprayed before and is
within a two-mile radius of where the Ardsley blue jay was found, it has been
incorporated into the August 21 spray schedule.
Even
if it is raining on a night scheduled for pesticide application, residents in
the communities being sprayed are advised to take precautions to avoid
exposure to the pesticide. These
precautions include closing their windows, turning air conditioners off or
setting them to re-circulate indoor air during the times of spraying.
Although heavy rains may be occurring during some parts of the spray
time, it may still be possible for the spraying contractors to complete their
spraying during periods when the rain has diminished.
All County ground spraying operations are subject to the weather and to the availability of specially-equipped spraying vehicles from the contractor. The County will be ground spraying with Anvil, a synthetic pyrethroid that is one of the least toxic pesticides available. The ingredients in Anvil are commonly used and found in products that combat fleas and ticks on pets. When Anvil is used to combat West Nile virus, it is used in very low concentrations. Most people will not experience any irritating effects so long as they are not normally sensitive to pesticides, plant pollen, hairspray, petroleum solvents or household cleaning products.
For additional information, residents may call the Health Department’s West Nile Virus Information Line at (914) 637-2420 or visit the Health Department’s website at www.westchestergov.com/health.
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