Photo: Brax - Valley Publishing

While it is always difficult for a health department to combat a viral threat such as West Nile; the emphasis must be on utilization of resources and effective proactive response.

The Vector Control Unit has been lacking in these respects and as a result there have been numerous confirmed cases of infection with serious consequences including death in our region this summer. And the threat is not over.

One of the problems reported by residents in the Upper Valley is that fogging units have not been treating an entire area. In one case a late night fogging treated only one sector of a stagnant drainage canal in the Upper Valley.

Another example, is the over treatment with of water with a product that prevents the larvae from maturing. The problem was made worse as this canal that was over treated had been stocked by the same Vector Control Unit with minnows and the canal was teaming with minnows much to the delight of the Great Blue Heron which made several rare stops at the canal.

The result was a needless waste of manpower and resources and the death of some of the wild life as we showed with the death of numerous frogs and tadpols.

Send feedback to:

Editor, Upper Valley Beacon

© Copyright 2004-2005 Valley Publishing Company:
All Rights Reserved.
For questions or comments concerning this site, contact: webmaster@valleypublishinginc.biz