Washington, D.C. does not spray adulticides.
Officials in our nation's capital decided not to
spray adulticides “for many reasons.” These include scientific research
that demonstrates that adulticiding is not effective and concerns over
health risks to people. We quote from the plan for 2004:
“Adulticiding only kills mosquitoes
that are flying and remains
effective for only a few hours. The
efficacy of adulticiding is
open for debate and is not considered an effective tool for mosquito
management or control through only one application, or, over time, as
shown through scientific research. Reapplications of
adulticide
may compound negative health effects of pesticide usage.”
(Emphasis ours)
“Washington, DC has the highest asthma
rate in the country (2.5 times
the national average). Aerosolized
pesticides can trigger asthma
and aggravate respiratory conditions . . . Broadcast
aerosol
applications of pesticides, even at night, will elicit a negative
public response.” (Emphasis ours)
Are people, particularly those responsible for
spraying pesticides,
aware of the fact that the California Department Of Health Services
estimated the number of people in 2003 in Yolo County with asthma at
23,000 (17,000 adults and 6,000 children), for example? If even a
small
percentage of these people were negatively impacted by adulticides it
would be a significant number.
“The District does not expect to spray
for mosquitoes because of low
efficacy; kills of non-target species and potential health risks to a
high population of persons affected with respiratory problems and
compromised immune systems.”
“When we find West Nile present in
mosquito pools here in Washington, D.C., we don't spray,” said Peggy
Keller, chief of the Bureau of Community Hygiene and Animal Disease
Prevention in the D.C. Department of Health.
“We've learned that the best way to
protect the public from both the virus and the pesticides is to
intensify our larval program and distribute outreach and education
information that emphasizes prevention and protection techniques to the
public in the surrounding area.
Read more about the
District's model in achieving a
positive community response and protecting all citizens. Also, a
July 30, 2007, article
from the Washington Post reports that "Five years ago, West Nile virus
seemed like a major public health threat to the Washington region, with
nearly 100 human cases and 11 deaths. But the disease has receded
rapidly here since then, even as it remains a problem elsewhere in the
United States. Health experts credit the region's relatively low
toll
since then to a well-coordinated response from local agencies that
included raising public awareness about prevention and applying
larvicide to storm drains and other target areas." The virus is
receding into chronic endemicity: "the virus seems to be stabilized . .
. it is endemic in our area."
When we pointed out the great D.C. success in
controlling WNv with larvacides, water management, and public
education, without spraying adulticides, District Manager David Brown inexplicably changed his position on which
mosquito species demanded that we spray in this region and argued that
D.C. officials have an easier time of things, whereas exactly the
opposite is true.