Nebraska Department of Agriculture

Animal & Plant Health Protection
Plant Health

Pesticides and the West Nile Virus

The spread of the West Nile Virus across the United States has caused increased concern over the effect it will have on human health. An additional concern is the potential effects of increasing the use of pesticides to control mosquitoes, which transmit the virus.

Mosquitoes are capable of transmitting a number of viruses; a couple of which are routinely found in Nebraska. Given the number of illnesses that occur in Nebraska every year from equine encephalitis and other mosquito-borne diseases, the Department of Health does not consider the West Nile Virus to be as significant a threat to human health as these already-present diseases. It should be pointed out that wide scale testing of humans on the east coast have found hundreds of thousands of people that have contracted the disease but have not become ill because the body's natural immune system has developed antibodies against the disease. It is only the very rare case that humans actually develop the disease to an extent that causes severe illness or death.

Mosquito control methods in the U.S. include habitat modification, biological control, and chemical control. However, most programs employ a form of Integrated Pest Management which involves surveillance to determine if mosquito populations have reached a threshold level. These use the underlying philosophy that the greatest impact on mosquito populations will occur when they are concentrated, immobile, and accessible. This emphasis focuses on habitat management and controlling the immature stages before the mosquitoes emerge as adults. This policy reduces the need for widespread pesticide application in urban areas, thus reducing the risk of human health effects due to pesticides.

Mosquito control efforts are carried out mainly by local entities in Nebraska.

Information you can use to contact the appropriate entity if you have questions concerning this topic:
Nebraska League of Municipalities
Nebraska Association of County Officials
National Association of Counties

Additional Information on the West Nile Virus and Mosquito Control:
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension The Label
Nebraska Health and Human Services System
Map showing locations of Nebraska's Sentinel Flock Monitoring. See the previous two links for information concerning this activity.
National Pesticide Telecommunications Network West Nile Virus Resource Guide Homepage
Pesticides and Mosquito Control, EPA Office of Pesticide Programs
American Mosquito Control Association
The Center for Disease Control
USDA Animal Welfare Information Center

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