News Releases > Health department to spray Ridgemont Drive area again Tuesday - Targeted effort to reduce risk of West Nile virus

ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (September 22, 2008) –The health department will conduct targeted spraying on Tuesday in an area of Fort Wayne where traps have again yielded mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus.

For the second week in a row, vector control crews will spray in a half-mile radius of the 6100 block of Ridgemont Drive on the north side of the city. The area is bounded by Springbrook Road and Cherry Blossom Lane on the north, Wakefield and Warwick avenues on the south, North Clinton Street on the east, and Coldwater Road and Oakbrook Parkway on the west. Spraying will occur between the hours of 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., weather permitting.

A map of the spray location is included with this release and will be posted on the department’s Web site. Residents may request that their property not be sprayed by calling (260) 449-7459 and leaving their name, address, phone number or email.

Certain species of mosquitoes carry the West Nile virus which, when transmitted to humans, can cause symptoms such as fever, headaches, body aches, swollen lymph glands or a rash. In rarer cases, the virus may cause meningitis, muscle paralysis or sometimes-fatal encephalitis.

The health department’s mosquito control program focuses on eliminating potential breeding sites, larviciding to reduce the mosquito population, and placing traps to collect and test mosquitoes for disease. Spraying for adult mosquitoes, also known as adulticiding, is only performed when samples test positive for the West Nile virus.

While the pesticide used for mosquito control is an EPA-approved, low-volume concentration that is considered safe for humans and pets, it is suggested that residents remain indoors, bring pets inside, and close windows and doors while spraying is occurring.

Residents are encouraged to take precautions to avoid mosquitoes by wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants and by using an insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus when outdoors on clothes and exposed skin.

Residents can also reduce mosquito breeding on their property by disposing of old tires, plastic containers, ceramic pots or other unused containers that can hold water; cleaning clogged roof gutters and birdbaths; and aerating ornamental pools or stocking them with predatory fish.

For more information, please visit www.fw-ac-deptofhealth.com.

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