Immediate Release Contact: Constantine Dillon
September 8, 2000 631-289-4810 x225
National Park Service Responds to Possible West Nile Virus
Fire Island National Seashore Superintendent Constantine Dillon announced today that the National Park Service has activated its Mosquito Action Plan for a Stage Four mosquito alert. This is due to the discovery of a mosquito pool that tested positive for West Nile Virus found in the community of Saltaire at the western end of the Seashore. The positive result was announced by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services on September 7 and came from mosquitoes collected between August 22 and 24.
The Stage Four status calls for a team approach to this incident. National Park Service personnel will be working closely with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the New York State Department of Conservation (DEC), Suffolk County Vector Control, and local authorities to determine a course of action to protect both public health and the health of wildlife within and adjacent to Fire Island National Seashore. According to Suffolk County, the cooler weather conditions make spraying for adult mosquitoes unlikely to be effective and is not planned at the current time. If spraying is determined as necessary by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control, Suffolk County Vector Control is expected to use aerial application of one of these mosquito adulticides: Scourge (Resmethrin), Anvil (Sumithrin), or Fyfanon (Malathion). Information on the date and exact location of any spraying can be found on the Suffolk County web site at www.co.suffolk.ny.us or by calling (631)852-4939. The National Park Service’s Mosquito Action Plan for Fire Island National Seashore is available on the web at www.nps.gov/fiis. Only the Director of the National Park Service can approve the use of pesticides within units of the National Park System.
The positive results are from a fresh water species of mosquitoes, Culex pipiens. The vast majority of mosquitoes on Fire Island are salt marsh mosquitoes. The National Park Service has trapped hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes at Fire Island National Seashore since 1984 and has never before found a potentially harmful disease to be carried by any of them. The National Park Service will continue to monitor its traps for any change in mosquitoes. Culex pipiens, the house mosquito, breeds in stagnant and polluted water found around the home such as in old tires, clogged rain gutters, buckets and cans, bird baths, abandoned swimming pools and just about any other place rain water can collect in. Residents are urged to be vigilant in removing these sources of mosquito breeding areas.
The National Park Service collects and tests mosquitoes from nine different locations in Fire Island National Seashore. National Park Service personnel also monitor federal lands to remove all unnecessary freshwater breeding sources such as leaky pipes or discarded cans. The National Park Service also collects bird carcasses (possibly relating to West Nile Virus) to be tested for the disease.
Fire Island visitors and residents are reminded to avoid mosquito-infested areas at dawn and dusk, wear protective clothing, consider use of an insect repellant, and limit the use of mosquito attractants such as colognes, perfumes, and deodorants. West Nile Virus is rarely life-threatening. People most at risk are the sick, the elderly, and small children and it is suggested they stay indoors during these times of day.
The National Park Service determines its response to mosquitoes in joint concern with protecting public health and the environment. Visitors and residents can assist this dual purpose by avoiding use of devices that damage the environment but are not effective against mosquitoes. There are many devices on the market that claim to kill or repel mosquitoes that are not effective in reducing mosquitoes. Bug zappers and sound devices do not effectively reduce mosquitoes and may instead kill beneficial insects that prey on mosquitoes.
Fire Island National Seashore is a unit of the National Park System and is managed as a national park. Information on the national seashore may be obtained from the park web site at www.nps.gov/fiis or by calling (631) 289-4810.
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