City gets sprayed for West Nile virus

BY EMILY HAGEDORN, Californian staff writer
e-mail: ehagedorn@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Aug 9 2007 10:35 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Aug 9 2007 10:39 PM

While most residents were calling it a night Thursday, a pesticide was sprayed over metropolitan Bakersfield for the first time ever.

The spraying is in response to Kern County's mounting West Nile virus cases, which currently stand at 48, more than any other county in the country.
It came with little more than 24 hours notice, angering some people concerned about what the chemicals will do to the their health.

But the 11th-hour announcement could be considered a luxury. State and federal law does not require public notification, said Robert Quiring, manager of the Kern Mosquito and Vector Control District. And in Kern County, action needed to be taken quickly.

"This is one of those unique seasons that in spite of the control activity, it's not slowing down," Quiring said. "With that in mind, it was just time to go to plan B."
About 8:30 p.m., a twin turbine airplane sprayed water-based pyrethrin to kill mosquitoes, said Laura McGowan, spokeswoman for Clarke Mosquito Control, the Illinois-based company doing the spraying. The plane dropped 0.76 fluid ounces of pyrethrin per acre from about 300 feet.

The company is scheduled to do another spraying Monday, she said.

Health effects
Pyrethrin kills mosquitoes by attacking their nervous systems.

It only kills mosquitoes that are in flight, which is why the spraying took place in the evening, when mosquitoes are most active, McGowan said. The spraying was scheduled to be completed by 1 a.m..

"It is certainly much, much lower in toxicity than some of the older generation chemicals that were used to fight mosquitoes ... like DDT," said Glenn Brank, spokesman for the state Department of Pesticide Regulation. "It's used in lice shampoos for children."

The chemical, approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, reportedly causes no health problems for most pets, people or the environment.

"If that's the case, why do we have to consult our physicians?" asked Sharon Borradori, program director at the Kern County branch of the American Lung Association.

Asthma and allergy sufferers or anyone sensitive to chemicals should consult their physicians if symptoms flare, said Daniel Kim, director of health promotion and public information at the county Department of Public Health.
Pyrethrin, extracted from chrysanthemum plants, is not a "toxic substance," but it can cause wheezing and sneezing in some allergic people, said Dr. Patrick Leung, a Bakersfield allergist.

Before future sprayings, concerned asthmatics should make sure to use their preventive inhalers "to protect their lungs, so they are not going to respond to a lot of particulate matter in the air," said Dr. Paula Ardron, an allergist and immunologist with Bakersfield's Kaiser Permanente. Keeping windows closed and staying inside also helps, she said.

Direct skin contact to high amounts of pyrethrin can cause numbness, itching, burning or stinging, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"This is one of those products where the dosage makes the toxicity," McGowan said. The droplets are "invisible to human eye. Several fit on the head of the pin."
Late notice?

With its multiple human infections, Kern County has reached the "outbreak in progress" stage of the CDC's suggested response to West Nile virus, McGowan said. In this stage, widespread aerial spraying should be considered, the guidelines say.

McGowan said she first was called about the spraying in Bakersfield on Monday. An alert went out to media Wednesday night.

"We really can't say, 'Yes we're spraying, but we don't exactly know where,'" she said. "You need to have everything lined up first (before announcing it)."
Considering Kern County is entering the months when West Nile virus is typically most active, action needed to be taken.

"This is a public health emergency," Kim said. "We need to treat the mosquitoes as quick as possible."

Still, at least one resident isn't happy.
"I'm really pissed that they gave me a whole day's notice," said Katrina Beeson, 40. "I can understand them going over marshes, but they don't need to be spraying over the neighborhood."

Beeson has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a fatal disease of the lower respiratory tract that causes widespread scarring of the lungs. Because of the spraying, she decided to stay inside and turn off her swamp cooler, worried the chemical would filter inside.

"The last thing I need to do is breathe in pesticides," she said.

Pesticide Watch, a Sacramento-based activist group, spoke to Sacramento's City Council Thursday night about that community's use of pyrethrin a little more than a week ago.

"If spraying does take place, people deserve to know when," said Paul Schramski, the group's director. "People need time to prepare and protect themselves," which means shutting windows and possibly leaving town.

The Kern health department started an aerial spraying hot line Wednesday to take calls from concerned residents.

"We care about what they're saying," said Kim Rodriguez, marketing and promotions associate at the department. "We are listening to every phone call."

Spraying must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, which requires authorization from the city manager, mayor and county officials, Quiring said.
"In light of the governor's emergency declaration, it was not a hard decision to make," Quiring said, referencing the proclamation Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed last week that set aside $1.5 million to fight the virus.

The spraying will cost $60,000 to $80,000 for each application, Quiring said.
Late Thursday, the governor awarded the district $200,000 for the treatment.

http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/209586.html