PRESS RELEASE

DHH and Partners Begin Post-Hurricane Mosquito Control Plan
Department of Health and Hospitals News Update
BATON ROUGE , La. (September 16, 2008) - The overflowing and debris-clogged drainage ditches and standing water left after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike are potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes. To keep the mosquito population in check, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, working closely with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the affected parishes, has developed a management plan. Mosquito control is needed to protect public health from nuisances and diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.

DHH Secretary Alan Levine said that the mosquito control plan is two-fold.

“In the heavily flooded coastal parishes, the U.S. Air Force will use aircraft to administer the pesticide. In non-coastal parishes that were affected by the hurricanes, we will help the local mosquito control districts ramp up their spraying to control the mosquito populations by helping them with their own aircraft or with contract aircraft,” said Levine.

The likeliest areas to be sprayed will be determined by mosquito surveillance data supplied by local mosquito abatement districts and parish medical entomologists. The data will be used to make spray zone maps identifying the best places to spray to protect human health.

Aerial application by the Air Force should begin by Friday, September 19. The spraying will occur during the last 2-3 hours of daylight.

LDAF Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., said the program will use Naled (Dibrom®), an Environmental Protection Agency-approved pesticide. Naled is commonly used in Louisiana to control mosquitoes in regular aerial spray programs.

“Naled will be applied according to EPA-approved label application rates and recommendations. Studies have shown that Naled does not have an impact on human health or the environment when used at the concentrations needed for mosquito control,” Strain said.

The plan will continue based on field monitoring of mosquitoes in the parishes affected by the hurricanes. Because of this factor, the entire cost of the plan has not been determined. However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay 75 percent of the total cost of the spraying. The state of Louisiana will cover the remaining 25 percent cost share for the parishes.

As always, DHH reminds citizens to limit their exposure to mosquito bites (wear repellent, long sleeves and pants, and limit outdoor activity to non-peak mosquito hours) and rid their yards of standing water to help reduce the mosquito population.

DHH and LDAF are coordinating their efforts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies, and the Department of Defense in order to make this project a reality.

Questions about the actual spraying (time, area, etc) should be referred to the DHH Office of Public Health at (225)342-7551.

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