Thursday, October 3, 2019

Eastern Equine Encephalitis Now Found In 4th County - Mercer County; DEP To Conduct Spraying Operations

On October 3, the Department of Environmental Protection announced evidence of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) has now been found in a fourth county-- Mercer County, in addition to Carbon, Erie and Monroe counties.
As a result, DEP will be conducting truck mounted ultra-low volume (ULV) mosquito control operations in parts of Stoneboro, Mercer County.
DEP will spray for adult mosquitoes starting late evening on October 3, 2019, in the vicinity of McComb Road, Rt 965, Bradley Rd and Hendersonville Rd. The product that will be used is DeltaGuard and AquaDuet applied at a rate of .75 oz/acre. These products are designed to provide quick knockdown and effective control of adult mosquitoes.
Weather conditions and other unexpected events could delay or cancel a spray operation.
DEP has already conducted spraying operations in Carbon and Erie counties related to Eastern Equine Encephalitis and Monroe County has conducted its own spraying.
EEE is a rare but serious disease caused by a virus. The virus infects birds that live in freshwater swamps and is spread from bird to bird by infected mosquitoes. If a mosquito infected with the virus bites a horse or human, the animal or person can become sick. The risk of getting EEE is highest from late July through September.
This disease can also be fatal, as three out of every 10 people who get the disease die from it.
The current outbreak of EEE has resulted in 11 deaths in Michigan (4), Massachusetts (3), Connecticut (3) and Rhode Island (1).
On October 2, the Department of Health issued a series of precautionary steps citizens can take to prevent both mosquito-borne and tick-borne diseases.  Click Here for more information.
For more information, review the Department of Health’s Eastern Equine Encephalitis fact sheet and visit the Lyme Disease webpage and DEP’s West Nile Virus webpage for vector-borne diseases.
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