To fight West Nile, Dallas launches aerial defense
By SARAH KUTABy SARAH KUTA, Associated Press?
?Mike Stuart of Dynamic Aviation describes the plane that will be used for aerial spraying and it's difference from crop dusting during a news conference in Dallas, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. The last time Dallas used aerial spraying to curb the mosquito population, Texas' Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, Mission Control in Houston was launching Gemini missions and encephalitis was blamed for more than a dozen deaths. But for the first time in more than 45 years, the city and county planned Thursday to resume dropping insecticide from the air to combat the nation's worst outbreak of West Nile virus, which has killed 10 people and caused at least 200 others to fall ill. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Mike Stuart of Dynamic Aviation describes the plane that will be used for aerial spraying and it's difference from crop dusting during a news conference in Dallas, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. The last time Dallas used aerial spraying to curb the mosquito population, Texas' Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, Mission Control in Houston was launching Gemini missions and encephalitis was blamed for more than a dozen deaths. But for the first time in more than 45 years, the city and county planned Thursday to resume dropping insecticide from the air to combat the nation's worst outbreak of West Nile virus, which has killed 10 people and caused at least 200 others to fall ill. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Mike Stuart of Dynamic Aviation describes a plane that will be used for aerial spraying to the media in Dallas, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. The last time Dallas used aerial spraying to curb the mosquito population, Texas' Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, Mission Control in Houston was launching Gemini missions and encephalitis was blamed for more than a dozen deaths. But for the first time in more than 45 years, the city and county planned Thursday to resume dropping insecticide from the air to combat the nation's worst outbreak of West Nile virus, which has killed 10 people and caused at least 200 others to fall ill. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Mosquito tech Spencer Lockwood sorts mosquitos at the Dallas County mosquito lab in Dallas, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. The last time Dallas used aerial spraying to curb the mosquito population, Texas' Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, Mission Control in Houston was launching Gemini missions and encephalitis was blamed for more than a dozen deaths. But for the first time in more than 45 years, the city and county planned Thursday to resume dropping insecticide from the air to combat the nation's worst outbreak of West Nile virus, which has killed 10 people and caused at least 200 others to fall ill. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Mosquitos are sorted at the Dallas County mosquito lab in Dallas, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. The last time Dallas used aerial spraying to curb the mosquito population, Texas' Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, Mission Control in Houston was launching Gemini missions and encephalitis was blamed for more than a dozen deaths. But for the first time in more than 45 years, the city and county planned Thursday to resume dropping insecticide from the air to combat the nation's worst outbreak of West Nile virus, which has killed 10 people and caused at least 200 others to fall ill. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Dead mosquitos are lined up waiting to be sorted at the Dallas County mosquito lab in Dallas, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. The last time Dallas used aerial spraying to curb the mosquito population, Texas' Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, Mission Control in Houston was launching Gemini missions and encephalitis was blamed for more than a dozen deaths. But for the first time in more than 45 years, the city and county planned Thursday to resume dropping insecticide from the air to combat the nation's worst outbreak of West Nile virus, which has killed 10 people and caused at least 200 others to fall ill. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
DALLAS (AP) ? Dallas-area officials have launched an aerial assault on the mosquito population in the hope of ending a West Nile virus epidemic.
That epidemic has sickened at least 230 Dallas County residents and killed 10 of those.
The aerial spraying began at 10 p.m. Thursday, focusing on the county's northeast quadrant the first night.
It's the first time in more than 45 years that Dallas County launched aerial spraying against mosquitoes. The efforts have provoked a debate between health officials trying to quell disease risk and people concerned about insecticidal mist drifting down from above.
The hot, dry weather has created ideal conditions for mosquitoes, speeding up their life cycle and turning standing water stagnant.
Associated Press
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