By Nick Buglione and Marley Seaman
The mosquito pool was tested along with others in Westbury, West Hempstead, Hempstead, Elmont and Wantagh, according to the Nassau County Department of Health. Meanwhile, a dead American kestrel, a species of bird, tested positive for West Nile virus in Malverne Aug. 4, as did a dead crow found in Wantagh three days later. They are the first known birds that have tested positive for the disease this year.
³The presence of the West Nile virus in birds is not unexpected,² said Dr. David Ackman, Nassau County commissioner of health. ³We hope this finding serves to add urgency to our message of eliminating mosquito breeding sites around the home and on private property.²
The department said it has increased surveillance in East Meadow and the other neighborhoods, and is conducting additional trappings of adult mosquitoes, inspecting breeding sites and applying larvicide when necessary. There are no plans to spray any of the affected areas with adulticide, a pesticide designed to kill adult female mosquitoes, which spread West Nile, the department said.
Health experts have debated whether spraying pesticides poses a threat to people and animals. ³Spraying adult mosquitoes would be a last resort,² said Health Department spokeswoman Cynthia Brown. ³If the risk level looks like it could impact on the human population, that¹s where we would start to spray adulticide.²
The county has 42 traps that it uses to capture groups of mosquitoes, called pools, which are then sent upstate and tested for the virus.
In 2001, two East Meadow residents, Karl Fink, 77, and Adeline Bisignano, 71, died of West Nile virus. Bisignano succumbed on Oct. 26, and Fink died almost a month later, on Nov. 22.
Four years later, West Nile virus remains a legitimate concern among East Meadow residents, said Helen Meittinis, president of the Community Association of Stewart Avenue, a Salisbury-based civic organization. Meittinis said she wished that the county Department of Health communicated with East Meadow civic groups about where it is collecting mosquito pools and when they test positive. ³The agencies don¹t contact us and, quite frankly, a lot people depend on their neighbor to get news,² she said. ³If we don¹t get that information, we can¹t give them that information.²
The first known appearances of West Nile virus in the Western Hemisphere occurred in 1999 in Queens and northeastern Nassau County. No humans have tested positive in Nassau this year.
Birds such as crows and kestrels are the most common carriers, though the disease is usually spread to humans by culex pipiens, the common mosquito. The insect typically lays eggs in and around houses, especially in pools of stagnant water. Mosquitoes are most active from late afternoon or dusk through dawn.
The Department of Health urges East Meadow residents to take the following precautions:
n Remove standing water, mosquitoes¹ breeding grounds, from around homes and businesses.
n Make sure window and door screens are in place and in good repair.
n Minimize the time spent outdoors between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are abundant.
n Wear shoes, socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt when outdoors for extended periods.
n Consider using mosquito repellent when spending time outside. Insect repellents should not be applied to children younger than 3, however.
Symptoms of the disease usually occur five to 15 days after a mosquito bite. Most people initially show no symptoms or experience only a slight fever or headache. Severe West Nile infections result in brain swelling, along with high fever, confusion, muscle aches, weakness, seizures and paralysis. Although there is no vaccine or specific treatment, the disease is seldom life-threatening, except among the elderly.
Residents should report sightings of dead birds to the toll-free state hotline, (866) 537-2473, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or to the Nassau County Department of Health, at (516) 571-8707, from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on weekdays.
For more information about West Nile virus, visit the county¹s Web site at www.co.nassau.ny.us/health.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000
