West Nile confirmed in Dallas County (Fort Worth, Howe: Home Depot, zip code, garden)

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by JimBaker488

I was looking at some of the stats for Dallas County & other counties in North Texas vs Harris County (Houston/Gulf Coast), and the most puzzling aspect of those stats was that even though the total # of cases in N.Texas was much higher, the mortality rate was off the chart in Harris County, something like 15 % while it was less than 1 % in the North Texas county cases ? And I have no idea what that's about, and what's really bad I don't think the CDC does either ? If not totally, I think they are mostly "in the dark" about this nasty virus even though it's now been in our country for over a decade.
And where do the birds get it, what's the origional source ? And is it particular species ? I've heard Blue Jays are the most common carriers and if so why ?

The CDC does seem to be in the dark or so they claim and the last I read, the CDC was wondering if the WNV has mutated. I suspect we're not being told the whole story and what ever is going on is what ultimately lead to the aero spraying.

[knotquiteawake]

Big fat waste of money to spray out here in Rowlett. This is after two days of spraying... the foreclosed house next door with its gutters filled with standing water, and mosquito breeding pit in the backyard...
These were taking after two days of spraying!! Thousands of mosquitoes!

[TXNGL]

OMG!!! That is horrible! Can the city do anything?

[knotquiteawake]

I called the city, I think they wrote up the property. I also contacted the realtor, who I showed the pictures to as well. The realtor got permissions from the corporation who owns the house (probably some bank) to immediately send out exterminators to eliminate the standing water and spray for the mosquitoes.
I think it was the pictures I've been taking that lit the fire under whoever had the power to make decisions.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by knotquiteawake

I called the city, I think they wrote up the property. I also contacted the realtor, who I showed the pictures to as well. The realtor got permissions from the corporation who owns the house (probably some bank) to immediately send out exterminators to eliminate the standing water and spray for the mosquitoes.
I think it was the pictures I've been taking that lit the fire under whoever had the power to make decisions.

Thank goodness! I've never seen anything like it.

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by knotquiteawake

I called the city, I think they wrote up the property. I also contacted the realtor, who I showed the pictures to as well. The realtor got permissions from the corporation who owns the house (probably some bank) to immediately send out exterminators to eliminate the standing water and spray for the mosquitoes.
I think it was the pictures I've been taking that lit the fire under whoever had the power to make decisions.

Rousing applause for taking action!

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by knotquiteawake

I called the city, I think they wrote up the property. I also contacted the realtor, who I showed the pictures to as well. The realtor got permissions from the corporation who owns the house (probably some bank) to immediately send out exterminators to eliminate the standing water and spray for the mosquitoes.
I think it was the pictures I've been taking that lit the fire under whoever had the power to make decisions.

Wow...way to take action!

[TX75007]

Originally Posted by Macbeth2003

Well I don't think anyone has been suggesting that the pesticide being sprayed by the City of Dallas is going to kill people. It is very unhealthy for some groups of people. People with some breathing difficulties, people with certain classes of migraines and other neurological problems, etc.

Can I sue you and people like you if my child gets West Nile? Because I plan to do just this if public safety takes a hit due to ignorant people like you. If my kids get sick, then will YOU pay their medical bills?

My guess is you don't even know what a covalent bond is much less how malathion works and why it is safe to use around people.

You need to cite facts and studies rather than just spout off. Aerial spraying has been done many times and the after effects have been studied in depth.

Experimental Studies in Humans
..



Moeller and Rider (1962) conducted a controlled study in which male volunteers were administered daily capsules containing malathion (purity not reported) in corn oil that provided an approximate dosage of 0.11 mg malathion/kg/day for 32 days, 0.23 mg malathion/kg/day for 47 days, or 0.34 mg malathion/kg/day for 56 days. Plasma and erythrocyte cholinesterase was determined twice weekly before, during, and after administration of malathion. Administration of 0.11 mg malathion/kg/day for 32 days or 0.23 mg/kg/day for 47 days did not produce any significant depression of plasma or erythrocyte cholinesterase activity, nor did it induce clinical signs. In phase three, 0.34 mg malathion/kg/day for 56 days caused a maximum depression of 25% in plasma cholinesterase approximately 3 weeks after cessation of treatment. A similar depression in erythrocyte cholinesterase was observed, but it occurred later. Routine blood counts conducted at the end of each study period did not detect any significant changes. No remarkable alterations in urinalyses were observed.

and

The California Department of Health Services conducted indirect assessments and symptom prevalence surveys to determine whether aerial application of malathion bait used to eradicate the Mediterranean fruit fly in Santa Clara County, California, posed a health hazard to the public (Kahn et al. 1992). In one indirect assessment, the records of a major hospital emergency department were compared during the first 5 weeks of spraying, the 2 weeks before spraying, and a corresponding 7- week period the year before. The number of visits did not differ significantly, and none of the hospital emergency departments in the county reported cases of pesticide poisoning. Another assessment of the frequency of ambulance calls in the same periods also showed no significant differences, but this assessment was relatively insensitive. An assessment for an increase in cases of asthma at a medical school hospital showed no increase, but the number of cases in this study were too small for definitive conclusions. In the symptom prevalence surveys—one an on-site home visit study, the other a telephone survey—no evidence was found that indicated the aerial spraying of malathion caused any detectable increase in symptoms.

ATSDR - West Nile Virus Control - Malathion (CAS Number 121-75-5)

[Macbeth2003]

Originally Posted by TX75007

Can I sue you and people like you if my child gets West Nile? Because I plan to do just this if public safety takes a hit due to ignorant people like you. If my kids get sick, then will YOU pay their medical bills?

My guess is you don't even know what a covalent bond is much less how malathion works and why it is safe to use around people.

You need to cite facts and studies rather than just spout off. Aerial spraying has been done many times and the after effects have been studied in depth.




and







ATSDR - West Nile Virus Control - Malathion (CAS Number 121-75-5)

Really, I'm the ignorant one.
Can I point out one little flaw in your reasoning. Just one.
We aren't spraying malathion.
We are spraying a pyrethrin based poison. One that DOESN'T WORK! You see I'm not some insane "all chemicals, and modern science are bad," person. My problem with this spraying is twofold. One is that it seems to be, according to many studies, quite ineffective against mosquitos, and at least as effective - maybe more - against beneficial insects like bees, and butterflies. The city has also been ludicrously irresponsible in changing the times they say they are spraying. At one point posting on the same page of their website two different times they were going to spray, thus not even giving people the info they need to stay inside during the spraying.
Pyrethrins do trigger probelms in a few people, though very rarely, and more importantly, the chemicals in Duet used to make them more effective can cause issues in people with neurological problems. Several people I know - not just me - were told to try to absent themselves during the spraying.
We are using an ineffective product, which kills beneficial insects, and can cause neurological issues. I'm not against mosquito control. Frankly if the city announced they were going to spray malathion at dusk (when mosquitos are most active) I would be less upset. it would actually kill the Damn Mosquitos, and have - as you rightly point out - no real side effects (still kill the bees though.)

The problem is that this is a bad solution.

[TXNGL]

Nobody can sue citizens over the spraying (pro or con) because none of us have any control over this, we only have our opinions.