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Malaria in Sarasota-Manatee area triggers broad insecticide response [1]

['Jackie Llanos', 'More From Author', '- June']

Date: 2023-06-21  

Sarasota and Manatee counties have launched spray missions to prevent more malaria cases from emerging in the area.

Mosquito-borne illness alerts in the counties remain in effect after a second person was infected in less than a month, according to the Florida Department of Health. The case was reported during the week of June 11-17. The first was reported the week of May 21-27.

Sarasota County Mosquito Management Services has carried out 11 spray missions during the past week, according to a map the agency distributed. Monday night, a plane deployed insecticide across nearly 9,000 acres in a heavily populated area, which is a rare procedure, Mosquito Management Services Manager Wade Brennan said.

“We don’t have any skips as far as if there’s a house or if there’s dead-end roads, or something that could cause problems,” he said. “So when we have an aerial mission, we have an even coat of that pesticide.”

The Manatee County Mosquito Control District is planning an aerial treatment spread over more than 15,000 acres, according to its spraying schedule.

Usually, the species of mosquitoes that cause malaria live in ponds, lakes, and ditches surrounded by dense vegetation. Other aerial spray missions have focused on areas near the Mayakka River. Although 23 Floridians have been infected with malaria while travelling abroad this year, the concerns are higher for local cases since only mosquitoes can spread the disease.

“Those two mosquitoes are no longer alive, so we definitely have more, and that’s why we’re doing everything we can to eradicate all the mosquitoes,” Brennan said.

Malaria is not the only mosquito-borne illness detected in Florida at the moment. Miami-Dade County is under alert over two local cases of dengue from January and March, according to the department of health. Chickens and horses have tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus in Polk and Orange counties, the department said.

Authorities recommend that people living in the affected counties drain standing water and cover their skin with clothing and CDC-approved repellents.

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[1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/06/21/malaria-in-sarasota-manatee-area-triggers-broad-insecticide-response/

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