Following the discovery of West Nile Virus (WNV) in mosquitoes in Nassau County, the county health department announced at press time that spraying of pesticide for adult mosquitoes might be done by ground truck tomorrow, Aug. 31.

The announcement followed a previous one last week that the county was continuing efforts to control the growth of mosquito larvae, but had not scheduled aerial or truck spraying, after finding crows infected with WNV in Levittown, East Massapequa, Plainview, Farmingdale, Wantagh and Seaford. However, at press time Monday, the county announced that infected mosquitoes, which pose a greater threat, had been found also, and that therefore spraying of adulticide by truck may be necessary.

The infected mosquitoes were trapped in Bethpage State Park and north of Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, on Aug. 16 and 20. The positive test results came in Monday. The truck spraying, if done, would take place near these two trap locations.

The initial decision - to not spray - was announced last Tuesday, after the New York State Department of Health confirmed evidence of the virus in birds found in East Massapequa, Plainview, Farmingdale, Wantagh and Seaford, and again last Thursday, after another infected bird was found in Levittown.

Last week's findings brought the total number of infected birds found this summer in Nassau County to 18; in Suffolk, over 40 have been found, while in New York City, the total is upwards of 50. Until Monday, infected mosquitoes had been found this summer in Suffolk County, but after 22 weeks of monitoring, no mosquitoes tested in Nassau County had turned up positive. "In recognition that birds can fly long distances and as part of our strategic mosquito control program, additional mosquito traps have been set at the site where all of the dead birds have been found to determine whether infected mosquitoes are in the area," County Executive Thomas Gulotta said last Tuesday. "If infected mosquitoes are found in the area, a value judgment will be made to determine if limited spraying is required."

Nor had there been any human cases of WNV in the county this summer, as the disease had remained confined to birds. Cynthia Brown, a spokesperson for the Nassau County Health Department, said last Tuesday that one theory for this lies in the abundance of birds this season has seen. The birds have thrived due to high amounts of wet weather, which has made the drinking water they need to survive readily available. And, mosquitoes prefer to bite birds rather than people, Brown noted.

"The mosquitoes bite the birds. Then the mosquitoes would bite other birds, which they prefer to people, as a matter of fact. This has been a very good season, weather-wise for birds, so there are lots of birds around, and the mosquitoes prefer to bite the birds, since they are available," she said. Brown stressed that the disease is only spread by mosquitoes, meaning that birds cannot infect other birds or humans. At press time Monday, Brown confirmed that, still, no people have tested positive for the virus in the county this summer.

Prior to the late-breaking news that the county may spray due to the infected mosquito finding, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor May Newburger commented on the county's original decision - not to spray. She described it as consistent with the wishes of local residents. "I think the county made a decision based on the fact that there were no confirmed cases of any West Nile mosquitoes here. And I think the feeling in the community by people was that they did not want spraying if it could be avoided, and I think the county decided that they could avoid it." She noted that the county was able to avoid spraying through employing such preventative measures as the larvae control, a precaution also taken by the town.

The county's monitoring program has consisted of mosquito testing in 200 miles of fresh water streams, 70,000 street basins, 650 storm drains and 50 ponds throughout Nassau. The county has also responded to close to 8,000 citizen inquiries and complaints of possible mosquito breeding sites. Routine larvae control, which consists of the application of a larvae growth inhibitor, has been ongoing.

A key element of the county's mosquito control program has been promoting public awareness about the need to prevent the spread of mosquitoes in the home by removing standing water, which the insects use as breeding sites. This is especially important, according to Brown, because household mosquitoes, which are the carriers of WNV, travel less than 200 feet from their original breeding ground to find a victim. The county has distributed more than 200,000 copies of its 2000 Mosquito Control Program brochure.

Last week, prior to this Monday's test results, Health Department officials were not certain why infected birds had been found, but not infected mosquitoes. However, Brown speculated that this was possibly due to vigilant efforts to control the breeding of mosquitoes, both by the agency and residents.

"I'd like to think that part of it is definitely due to the cooperation of our residents who have tried very hard to remove standing water, which is the breeding site," Brown said last Tuesday.

Brown on last Tuesday also urged residents to continue to exercise caution, as August and September are high risk months for the mosquito-borne virus. "We're just entering the height of the season, so to speak," she said, noting that last year, all six people who contracted the disease in Nassau County were bitten in August. The disease was fatal in one of the victims, an elderly woman from Mineola.

"It's August-September that really is the height of the season, in the sense that there are more and more mosquitoes out there," said Brown, "So that's why it is very important to keep the larvaciding and the support ... So we're reaching out now, and saying, 'Could you please remember to empty your stagnant water, wherever you find it.'"

Residents can call the county's West Nile Virus Information Hotline at 571-2500 for the most up-to-date WNV information. Those who wish to report a dead bird or mosquito problem, or obtain a mosquito control brochure, may call 571-8707, weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.