9.16.2000 00:15
Fall River to spray pesticide early Monday
By MARISA KATZ
Journal Staff Writer
FALL RIVER
-- Bristol County Mosquito Control will conduct limited pesticide spraying Monday in the area around Oak Grove Cemetery, near where a dead crow infected with the West Nile virus was found earlier this week.
Municipal Services Director James A. Smith said that, weather permitting, ground spraying will take place between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. Monday. Mosquito-control workers will use the pesticide Resmithrin, a chemical that targets mosquitoes but is harmless to humans and animals.
All spraying will be contained within a quarter- to half-mile radius of where the bird was found at 30 Ward St. The affected area is bordered by President Avenue to the north, Northeastern Avenue to the east, Locust Street to the south and Robeson Street to the west.
Smith said that Highlands residents may want to stay inside during the spraying, close their windows and turn off any air-conditioning systems. But he said the pesticide does not leave residue that would need to be wiped off outdoor furniture.
"The city is on top of this," he said. "And I think that the citizens of Fall River should feel comfortable about the situation."
The West Nile virus grows in birds and may be transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. But so far this year there have been no cases of humans with the virus identified in Massachusetts or Rhode Island. And health officials say that the risk from this point on is very low because mosquito season is near an end.
Smith said Bristol County Mosquito Control workers set traps near the cemetery Thursday night that can capture as many 80 mosquitoes. They only came up with six.
Still, he said mosquito-control officials will continue to monitor the problem until the first frost. And in the spring, they will set up a catch basin treatment program as a preventative measure to cut down on mosquito breeding.
Find out more about the West Nile virus
, from recent local news to information about the disease to preventive measures, at:
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