NEW YORK—The city’s Health Department announced that West Nile Virus was detected in some mosquitoes in the neighborhoods of New Dorp Beach and Bull’s Head on Staten Island Tuesday.
West Nile Virus first appeared in the United States in New York City in 1999.
Birds can carry the virus, but based on research, mosquitoes, which get the virus from birds, are responsible for much of the spread of the virus across the United States.
The find on Tuesday came as trucks were in the process of spraying liquid insecticide in areas where mosquitoes are most active around the city—aiming to kill adult mosquitoes. At the same time, helicopters were spraying larvicide on nonresidential areas such as marshes—aiming to kill mosquito larvae before they grow and leave the water.
Yet spraying chemicals is not a solution, said Jay Torres, operations manager for Gateway Pest Management in Queens. “The solution would be to find out where water seems to collect more than any other places, and to treat those stagnant places and water pools. It’s a lot of work, for sure,” Torres said.
