Officials Address Zika Virus Prevention

Thank you to these elected leaders for their press conference on the important public health issue of controlling and responding to mosquito-borne illness.

The mayor read off a list with 10 recommendations; one was to change out bird-bath water once a week. Actually Mr. Mayor, that should be done at least every two days, as mosquitoes can breed in any water that stagnates for two or three days. A small point; but how about we get that right in the next printing?

As we’re coastal and there are many estuaries and wetlands hospitable to mosquitoes, cleaning your backyard is a start, not a solution.

Senator Blumenthal persuasively called for education and eradication? Eradication–how? Spraying? What to spray? When? Frequency? Do only those who can afford it get mosquito spray? How are we both educating AND equipping our diverse citizenry?

NYC’s Zika response to date has included:
+ Increasing public awareness (measure pre- and post-)
+ Educating providers and assisting them with diagnosis
+ Coordinating and performing laboratory testing
+ Investigating suspect cases
+ Monitoring pregnant women with Zika infection and their babies
+ Developing Aedes mosquito control plans

Source: The CDC’s “Zika Action Plan Summit” slide deck on “Controlling and Responding to Mosquito-Borne Illness”
http://www.cdc.gov/zap/pdfs/state-and-local-panel.pdf slide 20.

Can CT cities build on NYC’s model? I hope so.

I hope too the literature hung on doors today was multi-lingual–and will be disseminated by health officials and support staff via public libraries, health clinics, hospitals, senior centers, health training centers, and with allied health professionals who are speaking to their audiences in a language they understand … and providing a follow-up phone number to call for questions and reporting useful info.

I look forward to seeing actionable evidence-based information and a hotline # on the City’s relevant online sites–even if it is merely links to the CDC and State DPH. No sign of anything yet on these sites:

Bridgeport City Heath and Social Services
www .bridgeportct.gov/content/89019/95959/default.aspx

The City of Bridgeport Facebook page
www .facebook.com/BridgeportCT/

The home page of Bridgeportct.gov

Finally, as we set out to “eradicate” mosquitoes, let’s do so wisely, without destroying precious land, air, and water and beneficial organisms (e.g., bees). For more on this, see the excellent guidance on the Arlington (Virginia) Regional Master Naturalists site:
armn.org/2016/02/19/how-to-control-mosquitoes-without-killing-pollinators-and-other-important-wildlife/