Above average risk for West Nile virus in Cumberland County
State environmental regulators say the risk of West Nile virus is above average in Cumberland County, and mosquitoes carrying the virus have also been discovered across the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg.
As the summer has gone on, the sprayings have intensified in Cumberland County townships like Silver Spring, South Newtown, Penn and Dickinson.
More liquid is getting sprayed per acre in the County, while in Franklin County, some areas were sprayed for the first time this week.
Exeter Township in Berks County, plus four municipalities in Adams County have also been sprayed so far this year.
“We experienced an extremely frigid and harsh winter that was followed up by a pretty cold spring. So that did not allow the mosquito population to really get out there and spread the virus until later on in May,” saysAmanda Witman, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. Still, she says the state is in much better shape compared to the record-breaking year of 2012.
“Urban areas tend to have the most standing water. There’s lots of pavement, sidewalks, asphalt. Lots of non-porous materials in urban areas that allow standing water to collect and gives them essentially the perfect conditions for breeding,” adds Witman. On top of the sprayings, the DEP
Both the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and E.P.A say the spray, known as pyrethroid,does not pose an unreasonable health risk to public health.
People who are sensitive to chemicals can register with the state Agriculture Department to get special notifications if sprays are scheduled.
As of July 29th, the D.E.P. has done 2,616 spray “events”.
