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Thursday, August 9, 2007 , Updated

Dallas to spray for West Nile virus in Lower Greenville area

by Avi Adelman of Barking Dogs

Mosquito Armageddon zone

LOWER GREENVILLE — City of Dallas staff will spray to reduce the number of mosquitoes in an area of East Dallas.

Weather conditions permitting, spraying is scheduled for Thursday night into Friday morning, August 9/10, 2007. Spraying will begin after 10:00 p.m. and will conclude prior to 3:00 a.m.

The area to be sprayed is within an area bounded by Henderson Avenue, Ross Avenue, Live Oak Street, Beacon Street North, Gaston Avenue, Carroll Avenue and Capitol Avenue.

While the insecticide is considered safe, residents in the above areas should avoid contact with the spray by staying indoors. Persons inside a vehicle while trucks are actively spraying should remain in their vehicles with the windows up and the air conditioner on until the trucks pass and the spray is no longer visible. Persons out when spraying is to take place should be alert for trucks and should not follow them. If contacted by the spray, wash the affected area thoroughly with soap and water. The spray breaks down quickly in the presence of sunlight and has no residual effect. Fish ponds should be protected and pets may be brought inside during the spraying period.

Dallas residents are urged to take precautions against mosquito bites by reducing outdoor activity during evening and nighttime hours. Residents who are outside during these times should cover their arms and legs and use a mosquito repellant.

Residents should eliminate standing water to prevent mosquito breeding and the spread of West Nile Virus. Breeding places for mosquitoes include swimming pools that are not kept clean, stagnant ponds, pet watering dishes, birdbaths, potted plants, old tires, empty containers, toys and clogged rain gutters. Standing water should be eliminated promptly, as mosquitoes can grow from egg to adult in as little as seven days.

The pesticide and spray methods are adapted for the purpose of reducing the adult mosquito population. Only those areas where infected mosquitoes have been found are scheduled for spraying. The active ingredients in the pesticides used are permethrin and piperonyl butoxide. A 300-foot swath is the effective range and only insects present and which come into contact with the pesticide may be killed. Insects which are not active at night like bees and dragon flies should not be affected.

To report standing water or mosquito problems Dallas residents should call 3-1-1.

For additional information on Mosquito Control, visit the City's website at www.dallascityhall.com.

BarkingDogs.org covers the Lower Greenville Avenue area.

Staff
Verified User
Anonymous

dwmoskowitz, says:

This article fails to mention that a safe and effective treatment for WNV encephalitis was published three years ago.

My company developed (and owns a pending patent for) the treatment, and has been using it in an ongoing free clinical trial for the past 5 summers.

Our initial results on 8 patients seen in Sept, 2003 were published in a peer-reviewed medical journal in July, 2004 (1). Publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal is all that's required for a treatment to officially exist.

Our approach lowers the host's response to the virus--the so-called "cytokine storm"--rather than targeting the virus itself. So it may work for most viruses as a kind of general viral antidote.

I was asked to describe our treatment to the White House Office of Science Technology and Policy (OSTP) in June, 2004. I volunteered to brief the Dept of Homeland Security later that summer. The UN is aware of our treatment in the context of avian influenza. It was included in the Project BioShield II Act of 2005, co-sponsored by Senators Lieberman, Hatch, and Brownback (2).

The FDA is happy for our trial to proceed, since we use already FDA-approved medications which are known to be safe for the general population.

I just described our treatment this past Friday, August 3rd, at the BARDA Industry Day hosted by the Dept of Health and Human Services (3).

The only agency not supportive of our efforts is the CDC, for reasons known only to them.

21 patients with WNV have responded so far, out of 25 (84%). We've also treated 4 horses (3 responded) and 12 birds (6 responded; birds present sicker than humans and horses). Our WNV trial is free from our end. The blood pressure meds we use are inexpensive (around $1/day) and are available by prescription from any drugstore in the country.

Anybody who wants to download our trial documents can do so at any time of day or night from our homepage at www.genomed.com.

Beginning treatment early--within the first 48 hrs of encephalitis symptoms--seems to be the only way to avoid long-term sequelae such as paralysis, chronic fatigue, cognitive problems, etc. WNV is notorious for still affecting half of WNV victims 18 months later.

If a family knows about our treatment ahead of time, they'll be in a much better position to get it prescribed for their relative who comes down with the disease.

Thanks to the inexplicable behavior of the CDC, neither physicians nor patients have heard about our treatment for the fifth year in a row.

References 1. Moskowitz DW, Johnson FE. The central role of angiotensin I-converting enzyme in vertebrate pathophysiology. Curr Top Med Chem. 2004;4(13):1433-54. PMID: 15379656 (For PDF file, click on paper #6 at: http://www.genomed.com/index.cfm?acti...)

Section 2151 of the Project BioShield II Act of April 28, 2005 (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billt...)
http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/press/ne...

Sincerely,

Dave Moskowitz MD Chairman, CEO & Chief Medical Officer GenoMed, Inc. "Our business is public health(TM)"

website: www.genomed.com Ticker symbol: GMED.PK (on the OTC Pink Sheets)

email: dwmoskowitz@genomed.com

Anonymous

2 years, 3 months ago
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Rawlins Gilliland, says:

BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: This toxic poison spraying kills more than an occassional mosquito.

Last year, in Southeast Dallas when they sprayed, the canary in the mine, so to speak, was the dead fish in the creek at the northeast corner of the Trinity Forestd...the loss of more than a few vomiting feral cats who died wretched deaths (and this is 'safe'?) because they were outside.

Lady bugs were belly up. Fireflies gone. Baby possums found dead. God know what else. All chasing a random mosquito whose natural enemies are either killed or run off by this spraying.

Trust me: This is ultimately going to be something we look back on and say, "They did what???" when it is mentioned years from now this toxic spraying throughout the city.

Verified

2 years, 3 months ago
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eastside, says:

I think we all agree that this year is the worst for the mosquito population. I don't know if spraying will do any good unless people start being responsible by draining out their bird baths, any containers that hold water, trash cans, and those who don't take care of your pools,etc.

The city should prioritize areas that are in the "flood zones" i.e. parts of Little forest Hills, White Rock Hills, and anywhere there is a body of stagnant water.

Anonymous

2 years, 3 months ago
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DC, says:

The species of mosquito is more important than the absolute number.

As far as this 'study' goes, I wouldn't say there is potentially nothing to it, but unless the protocol and the medical monitor are posted somewhere, the available information on that website qualify that project for an Ig Nobel.

Anonymous

2 years, 3 months ago
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OBradley, says:

If anyone has an swimming pool they want to have cleaned out I can do it for free and ask in return to skateboard in the pool. I know this is a bit of a random comment but you never know it might be usefull to someone. I have legal waiver forms written up so there is no issue of liability. O Bradley. overgroundproject@yahoo.com