U.S. Air Force Spraying for Mosquitoes in Post-Harvey Texas

Officials in Texas are anticipating that receding floodwater from Hurricane Harvey will bring about a new health risk: mosquito-borne illnesses. On Sept. 13, Texas commenced aerial spraying of insecticides with U.S. Air Force C-130 military planes to combat the growing number of mosquitoes populating along the coastal regions of the state, according to Reuters.

The state requested the Air Force to spray some 6 million acres with insecticides, according to another report from Quartz, which also notes that so far three counties have been treated. According to Reuters, Harris County reported dense mosquito populations, and has also dispatched vector control trucks every night since September 4. Dr. Mustapha Debboun, director of the Mosquito and Vector Control division of Harris County Public Health, told Reuters typically trucks are sent only to areas with disease-carrying mosquito populations.

Texas officials claim most mosquitoes that turn up in the area won’t be the kind that carry diseases, and that the point of spraying is largely to protect cleanup crews from the discomfort caused by bug bites. However, the growing number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes—vectors for viruses such as West Nile and Zika—are problematic for the state. 

Source: Reuters