County’s West Nile spraying hits West End today

The Allegheny County Health Department will spray parts of two city neighborhoods with a mosquito pesticide today after recent samples of the insects there tested positive for the West Nile virus.

The treatment is set for 8 to 10 p.m. in residential areas of Sheraden and Windgap, along Middletown Road and Chartiers Avenue. No human cases of the virus have been reported so far this year.

The county has been running a mosquito treatment program for more than a decade, originally concentrating on all of Pittsburgh’s catch basins, and last year, shifting the focus on spots that are historically more prone to the virus. In June, the health department treated about 10,000 of Pittsburgh’s basins, often containing stagnant water, at selected locations throughout the city.

In 2002, there were 22 reported cases of West Nile virus, and four deaths. One human case was reported last year, none in 2013, two in 2012 and one in 2011.

Between 1.5 and 3 ounces per acre of product will be released tonight via a sprayer mounted on a pickup truck. The pesticide is harmless to people and pets, but will kill adult mosquitoes, according to the health department.

The West End areas where the spraying will take place are the same the health department treated in 2010, when mosquitoes tested positive for the virus.

“I'm not sure that there’s anything unique to that area that attracts mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus,” said Dave Namey, environmental health administrator at the health department.

Insects and birds pass West Nile to one another via mosquito bites, and the virus is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. As in years past, county officials also urged residents to dump standing water and use insect repellent on exposed skin.

In case of rain, the spraying will take place at the same time Wednesday.