West Nile inches closer to Cooke County

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Denton County officials have reported multiple cases of West Nile virus. Mosquito spraying is underway today in Denton and has been imposed repeatedly in Sanger and Gainesville during the past month. No confirmed cases of West Nile virus have been reported in Cooke County. Courtesy photo

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August 16, 2012

West Nile inches closer to Cooke County

Staff Report Gainesville Daily Register The Daily Register Thu Aug 16, 2012, 08:02 AM CDT

Gainesville — At least two counties south of Gainesville are taking steps to stem the spread of West Nile virus.

Sanger workers have sprayed the city twice in the past three to four weeks, Sanger Public Works director Robert Woods said, adding the spraying is done via trucks.

Insecticide spraying was also planned for two Denton neighborhoods along Teasley Lane in southern Denton Wednesday night, according to a story on the Denton Record Chronicle’s website.

The spraying is in response to the growing number of Denton county residents stricken by the potentially deadly virus.

Earlier this week, Denton county health officials confirmed 78 cases of West Nile virus and one death.

Unlike Dallas County which has launched an aerial spraying effort, there are no current plans to spray any parts of Denton County using planes, said Jennifer Ochieng of the Denton County Health Department.

“I don’t think there’s any discussion of aerial spraying in Denton County,” Ochieng said.

How Denton County cities and towns counter the West Nile threat is up to each city’s officials, she noted.

“We do leave it up to our individual towns and cities to launch spraying.”

The West Nile threat has become so serious Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings on Wednesday declared the city’s recent West Nile virus outbreak to be a state of emergency and authorized the first aerial spraying of insecticide in the city in more than 45 years.

An Associated Press story noted that Dallas and other North Texas cities have agreed to the rare use of aerial spraying from planes to combat the nation’s worst outbreak of West Nile virus so far this year. Dallas last had aerial spraying in 1966, when more than a dozen deaths were blamed on encephalitis.

More than 200 cases of West Nile and 10 deaths linked to the virus have been reported across Dallas County, where officials authorized aerial spraying last week. State health department statistics show 381 cases and 16 deaths related to West Nile statewide.

“The number of cases, the number of deaths are remarkable, and we need to sit up and take notice,” Rawlings said during a city council briefing. “We do have a serious problem right now.”

Aerial spraying for mosquitoes could begin Thursday evening, depending on weather conditions.

The state health department, which will pay for the $500,000 aerial spraying with emergency funds, has a contract with national spraying company Clarke. Clarke officials have said two to five planes will be used in Dallas County.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report

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West Nile inches closer to Cooke County

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