See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Will Bredderman
Brooklyn Daily
The city is bringing its pesticide-spraying trucks to Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights tonight — whether you like it or not!
Residents are advised to stay indoors as the Health Department vehicles coat the neighborhoods in a fine film of the pesticide Anvil 10+10 from 8 pm tonight to 6 am on Friday. The vehicles will be spewing the insect-killing chemicals over everything from 81st Street to the water between Fourth and 13th avenues, and everywhere below 84th Street from Fourth Avenue to the Belt Parkway.
The dousing is part of a city program to battle the West Nile Virus, which is usually transmitted through mosquito bites and can cause meningitis — inflammation of brain and spinal tissue — among adults over age 50.
The pesticide, which is usually sprayed from the back of a truck, is not harmful to humans and pets, but the city is recommending residents stay indoors if possible, especially if one suffers from asthma or other respiratory conditions. Anti-pesticide groups like the No Spray Coalition believe the agents linger in the environment and cause health complications in infants.
To date, 252 city residents have been diagnosed with the disease since it was discovered in 1999.
For the most part, the West Nile Virus has spared Brooklyn this year: this city’s only human victim contracted the disease in Staten Island, city officials said.
For information on how to prevent the spread of West Nile Virus, visit nyc.gov/health.
Reach reporter Will Bredderman at (718) 260–4507 or e-mail him at wbredderman@cnglocal.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/WillBredderman