By Nick Buglione
Just last week the Nassau County Department of Health confirmed that "pools" collected in East Meadow and four other neighborhoods on Aug. 14 and Aug. 16 had tested positive for West Nile virus.
Days later the department announced that a 69-year-old Plainview man had been diagnosed with the disease, the first case in Nassau County this summer. Meanwhile a second case was confirmed in a 77-year-old Mineola resident on Sept. 3, after he took ill on Aug. 19 and was hospitalized on Aug. 26. Though the Plainview resident has recovered, the second infected man, whose condition is improving, remains in the hospital.
"With cases of West Nile virus both East and West of us, in both Suffolk County and New York City, it is not surprising to find a case now in Nassau County," said David Ackman, the county health commissioner. "At this time of year, mosquitoes are extremely active. With recent rains, mosquitoes can find more breeding sites available."
Despite these findings, the department said that the number of West Nile-positive mosquitoes found in East Meadow and other areas is low and they do not plan to spray neighborhoods with pesticides.
Some residents of East Meadow, however, where two locals died of West Nile virus last year, disagreed with the department and worry that if action is not taken more lives will be lost.
"I've never seen anyone do any maintenance or spraying in these storm basins and I feel that they are hot spots," said East Meadow resident Charles Fink during a recent call-in television program on West Nile virus. "I think it's important that we do spray but we have to spray in the area the mosquitoes are."
Fink lost his father Karl, 77, to West Nile virus on Nov. 22, 2001--a little over a month after the disease claimed its first East Meadow victim, 71-year-old Adeline Bisignano.
"This is a serious disease we're talking about," he said. "My father died a horrible death. This is not even compared to malaria."
Symptoms of the disease usually occur five to 15 days after the 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.
Last year, Fink pondered legal action against the county, maintaining that their failure to spray East Meadow with pesticide cost his father his life.
Yet Cynthia Brown, spokeswoman for the Nassau County Department of Health, refuted Fink's claim and said that the county properly monitors areas where mosquitoes likely breed.
"On a regular basis we go out to these sites, we check for larvae and when we find them we place larvicides," she said. Larvicides kill infant mosquitoes before they mature into adults, which could potentially transmit West Nile virus to humans.
"Our mosquito control program is a year-round program that's been in place for 80 years," Brown said, adding that maintenance personnel that monitor mosquito hot spots often dress in plain clothes, making them easily missed by residents.
She went on to note that the department has 42 mosquito traps spread out across Long Island, including East Meadow, that they regularly test for West Nile. Citing department policy, Brown would not reveal where the traps in East Meadow are specifically located.
There are also 650 storm basins, 200 miles of fresh water streams, 70,000 street basins and 50 ponds across the county that are regularly monitored and treated with larvicides when appropriate, Brown added.
Nevertheless, East Meadow residents were still vocal about their concerns over West Nile virus.
"I would say we're aware of it, we don't go into parks. We see water, there's water all over the place because it's rained a lot and we try to stay away from that," said Morton Sleven, a senior that's lived in East Meadow for four years. "We're in the age bracket where we're [susceptible]. You have to be very careful."
Francis Naimoli, an elderly resident of East Meadow for 42 years, said he's noticed potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes all over the neighborhood.
"People have bird baths, they have different things in their backyard that contain water that becomes stagnant," Naimoli said. "Everybody should check it."
The department takes three things into consideration before deciding to spray pesticides that will kill adult mosquitoes, according to the commissioner. First, they examine if there is an abundance of mosquitoes in an area. Second, they study if West Nile virus is active among that population. And third, they see if people living in the area have been infected.
The last time Nassau County sprayed pesticides was in 2000. Suffolk County, which is now spraying its local neighborhoods, uses the pesticide known as Scourge; Nassau typically uses Anvil.
Some environmentalists, however, question the effectiveness and safety of both these pesticides.
"Anvil and Scourge are both listed as neurotoxins by the Environmental Protection Agency, which means that they can damage the nervous system," said Adrienne Esposito, associate executive director of the Farmingdale-based Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
"Both Anvil and Scourge contain another ingredient PBO, pipernyl butoxide, and that's been classified by the EPA as a possible human carcinogen."
Carcinogens are substances known to cause cancer. "They both are also classified as being highly toxic to fish and crustaceans," Esposito said.
She was quick to point out, though, that her organization doesn't completely oppose the spraying of pesticides but would rather see them applied in a more conservative and targeted fashion.
Esposito said health officials should seek to specifically spray areas known to be active with West Nile-carrying mosquitoes rather than blanket an area with pesticides through ground and aerial sprayings.
"We support the New York State West Nile Virus Response Plan, which says that spraying should be used as a last resort," Esposito said. "They (pesticides) need to be used as wisely as possible."
Brown insists that great care does go into spraying pesticides. "We follow very carefully all the guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Conservation," she said. "We do not spray over water or any other sensitive areas."
Beat the bugs
The Nassau County Department of Health offers the following tips to avoid exposure to mosquitoes:
* Remove or empty standing water from old tires, garbage cans or any object that can hold water.
* Change the water in birdbaths every two or three days.
* Make sure home window and door screens are in place and in good repair.
* Minimize the time spent outdoors between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are abundant.
* Wear shoes, socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt when out doors for extended periods.
* Consider the use of mosquito repellent when spending time outside. Insect repellents should not be applied to children under 3 years old.
