|
 U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo planes began spraying insecticides over
three eastern Texas counties over the weekend and will expand to
other areas over the next two weeks, officials from the Texas
Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said. About 1.85 million
acres have been treated as of Tuesday, according to the department.
Officials hope the spraying can avoid outbreaks of mosquito-borne
diseases. Texas reported 441 human cases of West Nile virus and 21
deaths since the start of 2016, according to figures released on
Tuesday. It reported 342 cases of Zika virus during the same period,
including one likely spread by a mosquito bite this year.
Most mosquitoes that appear after floods are not the
disease-carrying varieties but can hurt recovery operations by
swarming residents and disaster workers during cleanup efforts, said
DSHS spokesman Chris Van Deusen.
Harris County, the state's most populous county and home to Houston,
is expected to begin night-time spraying soon, said Dr. Mustapha
Debboun, director of the Mosquito and Vector Control division of
Harris County Public Health.
"Under the circumstances, when you have a hurricane of a magnitude
like this, we would like them to spray the whole county ... everyone
was affected," Debboun said.
Harris County identified areas with dense mosquito groupings and
dispatched fogging trucks every night since Sept. 4. Typically,
trucks are sent only to areas with disease-carrying mosquito
populations, he said.
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Harvey plowed into Houston last month, killing at least 70 people
and causing about $180 billion in damages, largely through flooding.
Trillions of gallons of water fell on the region and led to a surge
in mosquitoes, prompting officials to seek U.S. Air Force help.
The C-130 cargo planes operating from an air force base in San
Antonio joined two smaller aircraft that sprayed in south Texas last
week. The big planes also were used to help control mosquitoes after
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Gustav.
In Jefferson County on the eastern Texas coast, aerial spraying
began Sunday and could end Tuesday, the county's mosquito control
division director told Reuters. Residents were alerted to the
flights and beekeepers were asked to cover hives, he said.
State officials urged residents to dispose of standing water, use
repellant and wear long-sleeved clothing outdoors.
(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in Houston; Editing by Dan
Grebler)
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