La. to Spray to Stop Spread of Mosquitos

[buzzsaw_23]

La. to Spray to Stop Spread of Mosquitos


Saturday September 10, 2005 2:16 PM

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - State health officials said Friday they will begin a spraying program to curb the hatching and spread of mosquitos and flies in the stagnant flood waters left behind in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

The program's main goal is to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses, which include West Nile virus. Aerial spraying is set to begin Sunday in New Orleans and surrounding areas and will take place in the last two hours of daylight, state health officials said.

The U.S. Air Force will conduct the aerial application of the pesticide Naled to help mosquito control activities normally conducted by parishes and cities. Naled is routinely used by mosquito control districts in Louisiana.

``The timely initiation of preventive measures to control mosquitoes and flies is necessary to reduce the risk of vector-borne diseases'' said Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Dr. Fred Cerise.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5268793,00.html

[Jamastiene]

1. If they know what is good for them, they will invest in tons,

and I mean tons in the literal sense of the word, of Chlorox too. It wouldn't hurt if they got that water treated asap.

[slor]

4. Oh sure...

kill skeeters and further pollute the toxic soup. There has got to be a natural/clean way to do this, without making the situation worse.

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. They already kill most of them anyway

Spraying with all that standing water is crucial down year. I know it sucks, but I'll take cancer in 20 year over West Nile any day.

[benburch]

7. The alternative is to cover the water with light oil.

Suffocates them (and everything else) in the water.

[Jamastiene]

10. It's already covered with a layer of oil from the spills. It's better to

go after the larvae. They are easier to kill and simple chlorine, which is basically chlorox lite to begin with, will work.

[benburch]

11. Actually, the water we are talking about has no oil in it... nt

[Jamastiene]

13. ??? Haven't you seen any of the footage or read any of the reports?

I wish I could provide a link. In any case, it's the best move to get rid of the disease carrying blood suckers before they spread some nasty diseases.

[benburch]

15. You are misinformed, seriously.

We are talking about many, many unconnected pools of stagnant water. Not the river itself. Mosquitos do not usually breed in running water. The Bayous are not covered in oil. And in any case, you need a particular sort of light oil to suffocate the larvae.

[benburch]

16. For example...

Proper mosquito control with oil means teams on the ground oiling every discarded bathtub, swamped boat, big puddle, pond, sump, pothole, etc... The large bodies of water may have oil spills... But the small stagnant pools I am talking about, where the skeeters love to breed, are not.

[Jamastiene]

18. Ah, the Bayous. That makes more sense, but there is still the

area of New Orleans that does have at least gas in it. Gas kills a lot, but there will be problems for quite some time with the mosquitos in that area too. It's a horrible ecological disaster, but when push comes to shove, most of the water even in Mississippi is polluted already too. It'll be hard to find a good solution that will leave the water reusable one day. Long term, I'd say letting the wetlands grow back later to clean the water some. For now, those mosquitos need to be fought tooth and nail, unless I accidentally ended up on a mosquito fan club on DU. :P Cheers.

[kestrel91316]

28. We don't put chlorine in waterways/lakes etc. The BT dunks are best.

[Jamastiene]

8. Chlorine isn't as bad as bug spray. Actually it is recommended (in very

small doses like drops) for making undrinkable water drinkable. They need to do something.

[kestrel91316]

27. Clorox = HIGHLY inappropriate to use in the natural environment

[XemaSab]

33. Word

I'm skeptical of any spraying of anything, be it chlorox, DDT, malathion, or "light oil".

It's all a giveaway to the big chemical companies as surely as "reconstruction" is a giveaway to halliburton.

[jhain]

2. add more organophosphates

http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic1660.htm

[buzzsaw_23]

3. Precisely what I was thinking

Will they use malathion to add to the toxic brew?

These "remedies" just go on auto pilot within the same diseased construct.
Just spray it.
Of course this means cash for Dupont-Dow-Monsanto etc.

[jhain]

6. not even a larva cide

adult mosquito killer- which makes no sense to me- all the standing water...they'd get better results with a bt sort of larvacide- but you are right- probabaly not as much money in that.

these organophosphates kill more people than west nile ever could.

[Jamastiene]

9. That sounds like the best bet. It's a waste to treat for only the adult

mosquitos when treating the larvae can be done with less toxins and works better anyway.

[Robb]

12. Actually too late to go with larvicide

Flooding or no, it's still September.

This is the best possible program to halt (or more likely slow) spread of West Nile, encephalitis, Dengue fever, malaria ...

[Jamastiene]

14. It's not too late, but they should use something that covers the larvae

too. Remember this is the south where mosquitos including the larvae grow and reproduce up to 10 months of the year, right through fall.

[benburch]

17. Oil does that.

It kills not adults but larvae. Oiling stagnant pools was the only way the malaria mosquito was able to be controlled so that the panama canal could be built.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

31. I didn't know that about the Panama Canal

That's interesting and one of the reasons I love DU. The exchange of information is never limited to just politics.

You're right about a light oil being a good solution. I know that you have to use one that spreads easily to make this effective.

When I lived in Houston we used a horticulture grade oil to treat standing water. Now, since I have less of an issue of standing water where I am, I just spread BT granules after a rain.

[arikara]

19. I can't figure out the big deal scare

that goes on over West Nile. It doesn't sound any different than flu, and doesn't spread as fast. In fact it seems to be slowing down significantly. According to Mayo...

In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported more than 2,500 U.S. cases and 98 deaths — compared with more than 9,800 infections and more than 250 deaths in 2003.

Deaths from West Nile infection are relatively uncommon. Most people who are infected with West Nile virus have no signs or symptoms or have only a mild illness. Most don't become seriously ill and recover fully. However, West Nile virus may be serious, especially in seniors and people with other medical conditions. It may lead to inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), inflammation of the membranes and fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), or inflammation of the brain and membranes surrounding the brain (meningoencephalitis).

Its just another excuse to terrify the public and another cash cow for Monsanto.

[buzzsaw_23]

23. West Nile like Lyme Disease

is a hoax, so to speak. That isn't to say noone gets these "diseases", though we should properly see them as symptoms and they could be named anything.

There is a great book on LYME disease which traces it back to the mass suburbanization of Connecticutt and how that impacted the milieu and thusly created the conditions. Forget the name of the book but heard the author interviewed years back.

There is also a great case study on the efficacy and impact on using malathion to spray for West Nile. Amy Goodman inreviewed some who did the spraying and some in the "affected" areas of NYC and what was found not surprisingly was the cure was worse than the disease.

Western Modality and the need for Bogeyman be it the mosquito or THE OTHER.

FEAR_FEAR_FEAR

[arikara]

30. Right you are

and now they want to add another poison into the chemical soup.

Terra Terra Terra!

Welcome to DU Buzzsaw!

[uppityperson]

20. Good, sometimes poisons are the best way to go.

People there do not need to have further mosquito borne illnesses spreading now. They and their bodies are stressed enough to have to deal with more. I hate poisons, but sometimes they are the least bad of 2 choices. Peace

[MisterP]

22. I'd frankly be more worried about the cholera that's beginning

to break out

[kestrel91316]

29. There is NO cholera breaking out. They have had a number of

cases of Vibrio vulnificus which is a waterborne bacterial gastrointestinal disease in the same genus as the cholera organism. It is NOT cholera. Vibrio vulnificus is virtually harmless in healthy people, but can kill the immunosuppressed or people with chronic liver disease. You can get it from raw oysters, too, BTW.

[KT2000]

21. Rescue workers must be evacuated

They cannot be exposed to the pesticides on top of the other pollutants. A percentage of them will be damaged for life.

Mark my words - they will not be evacuated and some will be struck down with symptoms of chronic fatigue; neurological problems; immune dysfunctions - just like the workers at Ground Zero and Gulf War Syndrome.

They will be dumped from the system by being diagnosed with mental disorders.

[CountAllVotes]

24. and so will all of the "survivors"

anyone that had contact with this water is screwed. They should be in quarantine IMO.

:kick:

[KT2000]

25. That's right

this is just the beginning I'm afraid.

[CountAllVotes]

26. yes I share your fear

This may very well be the beginning of the *end* - ? Is it THAT bad? My god, they are moving and relocating people all over the United States right at this very moment. The diseases have yet to manifest. Incubation for Hepatitis A is 21 days! Not 21 hrs. ... 21 days!

As for the bio-toxins ... my god, has me very :scared: to say the least!

:kick:

[Feron]

32. Good!

With all of those bodies still floating around, the spraying should have started much earlier. However, I'm glad this has begun. Those waters in New Orleans are so polluted, it's not like a little insecticide will make much difference at this point.