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DENTON COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) -Denton County will make another attempt at aerial spraying Friday night. Four planes will be taking off at about 8:30 Friday night. High winds – delayed Thursday night’s attempt and Friday, officials say the weather will not be a problem.

Health officials declared an emergency after West Nile Virus cases spiked across southern parts of Denton County then the decision to conduct aerial spraying was approved. Portions of Dallas County were sprayed by air a couple weeks ago, and the move seems to be working.

The planes will be applying Duet just like they did in Dallas County previously. Denton County pushed for the spraying because of concerns after 145 human West Nile cases — and two deaths.

At least 30 Denton County cities are participating in the aerial spraying including Flower Mound, Lewisville and Southlake. Denton, Frisco and the Colony were among a dozen cities that opted out.

“I think the best thing to take a look at is the data that came out of Dallas yesterday that with 2 consecutive nights of spraying like we are planning here in Denton county we were able to control 93% of the virus carrying mosquitoes,” said Laura McGowan, spokesperson for the company conducting the spraying.

Click here for a full list of participating cities.

(© Copyright 2012 CBSDFW.COM, CBS Local Media. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.com) – Preliminary tests show aerial spraying in Dallas County may have dramatically decreased the number of mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Thursday afternoon showing a 93 percent reduction in areas east and south of Dallas.

Those areas, including Rowlett, Mesquite, and Duncanville, were sprayed with pesticide from planes flying overhead on two consecutive nights earlier this month.

Those areas are the easiest to gauge and likely had the best result, according to Dr. Janet McCallister, of the CDC.

The new data also shows a “marked decrease” in mosquitoes in other parts of Dallas where aerial spraying was interrupted by storms.

Dr. McCallister, however, said, that data still needs to be further reviewed before it can be released.

Areas that received no aerial spraying, meanwhile, showed an increase in the number of mosquitoes, known to carry the virus, by an estimated 20 percent.

“The city of Dallas did the right thing. Mosquitoes were killed. No one was hurt by the spraying. And, if we hadn’t executed this plan, we now have information that says the growth in the mosquito population would not have gone down on their own, but probably would have risen,” said Mayor Rawlings.

Local leaders however warned there is still a risk of contracting the virus.

“Let me be clear, we will see more human cases,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. “We cannot possibly kill every potential carrier mosquito. We will continue surveillance and we will take swift action when appropriate.”

Mayor Rawlings said, at this time, there is no need for further aerial spraying. The city’s ground spraying and public awareness campaign, though, will continue.

Dallas County Web Site

Map of Areas Sprayed (PDF) - Data released today is from Zone 3.  According to the CDC, data from zone 1 & 2 shows a decrease, but specific data is not ready for release.  Areas *not sprayed* show an increase.

(© Copyright 2012 CBSDFW.COM, CBS Local Media. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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DENTON COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) – The North Texas weather is having an impact on the battle against West Nile Virus. Officials in Denton County have delayed their plans to start aerial mosquito spraying tonight.

County leaders say the decision was made “based on the expected wind speed during the anticipated spraying times.”

Plans have not been scrapped for Thursday night spraying the have not been cancelled.

According to Denton County officials, aerial spraying for mosquitoes carrying West Nile should be done when winds are consistently below 10 mph. On Thursday night winds are forecasted to gust at more than 20 mph for much of the scheduled spraying time.

Since the weather conditions are a delay and not a cancellation, per the guidelines set up by Denton County, aerial spraying will be attempted again on Friday, August 31.

There are some 30 Denton County cities that are participating in the aerial spraying, including Denton, Flower Mound, Lewisville, Sanger and Trophy Club.

Denton, Frisco and The Colony have all opted out of aerial spraying. They will be passed over during the air attack. Click here for a full list of participating cities.

The cities of Dallas, Carrollton and Coppell opted into Dallas County’s aerial mosquito spraying and will not be part of the Denton County effort.

Weather permitted will be done on Friday evening, between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. Saturday. Another round of spraying will also be done Saturday evening into Sunday morning.

The pesticide used for aerial spraying is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and is safe for humans and animals. But people wanting to take extra precautions may want to take the following measures to minimize exposure:

• Avoid being outside during spraying; close windows and keep pets inside
• If skin or clothes are exposed; wash them with soap and water
• Rinse homegrown fruits and vegetables with water as a general precautionary measure
• Cover small ornamental fishponds
• Because the chemical breaks down quickly in sunlight and water, no special precautions are suggested for outdoor swimming areas.

Texas has seen a majority of the country’s human cases of West Nile, with most of those being in North Texas.

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LEWISVILLE (CBSDFW.COM) - The number of human West Nile virus cases in Texas has doubled to nearly 900 in only two weeks, and a man in Rowlett died this week to bring the total number of deaths this season to 21 in the DFW area. With those tragic statistics in mind, Denton County will start aerial spraying on Thursday night for mosquitos carrying the virus.

The decision to conduct aerial spraying came after cases spiked across southern parts of Denton County, and health officials declared an emergency. Portions of Dallas County were sprayed by air a couple weeks ago, and the move seems to be working.

Denton County has about 30 cities participating in Thursday night’s spraying, including Lewisville. Dallas, Carrollton and Coppell opted into Dallas County’s aerial spraying and will not be part of the Denton County effort. Denton, Frisco and The Colony have all opted out of aerial spraying. They will be passed over during the air attack. Click here for a full list of participating cities.

The initiative is set to start at 9:00 p.m. and continue through 2:00 a.m. for Thursday and Friday nights, weather permitting.

While much of the nation is battling the West Nile virus — 43 of the 50 states have reported instances of the illness — nowhere is worse than here in Texas. About 56 percent of all U.S. cases have been found in this state. Still, the chance of someone getting the virus is relatively small. With almost 900 cases reported, given the Texas population, there is just a one in 28,600 chance that a mosquito bite will pass the illness to an individual.

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DALLAS COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) – There are now more than a dozen Dallas County residents who have died from West Nile Virus related health issues.

Wednesday officials with Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) confirmed that a 13th person in the area has died.

Officials say the hospital patient, who lived in the 75089 zip code, was diagnosed with West Nile Neuroinvasive Disease and later died.

Since the first of the year, Dallas County has reported 319 human cases of West Nile infection.

The county has fought infestation with ground and aerial spraying, but still say the threat should be considered a major public health concern.
Of all the human West Nile Virus infections reported in the United States 27-percent have been in Dallas County.

Click here to get more information on the West Nile Virus in Dallas County.

Also on Wednesday, DCHHS announced that ground mosquito insecticide spraying will be done in the City of Irving.

If weather permits, spraying will be done on both August 29 and August 30, around 10 p.m.

The spraying will be centered on four cluster areas, mainly in the far south and west portions of the city, where positive West Nile virus mosquito pools have been found.

While everyone is at risk of being affected by West Nile Virus, the very young and people age 50 and older are at a higher risk of developing a severe infection.

While human West Nile infection is rare, as a precaution against mosquito bites and potential infection North Texans should:

• Stay indoors at dawn, dusk and in the early evening
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors
• Spray clothing with repellents containing permethrin or DEET
• Repair or replace all screens in your home that have tears or holes
• Eliminate standing water that collects on your property

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

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A man sprays on mosquito repellent. (credit: Mario Villafuerte/Gettyimages)

DALLAS COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) – Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) is teaming up with a mosquito protection company to provide needy residents with insect repellent.

Continuing the fight against the West Nile Virus, DCHHS and Cutter® Insect Repellent will hand out free insect repellent to Dallas County low-income residents and senior citizens.

A press conference will be held August 29 at 10:30 a.m. detailing how the 20,000 DEET-based repellent products from Cutter will be distributed to eligible residents.

To date Dallas County has had 300 human cases of West Nile Virus and 12 West Nile Virus related deaths — the majority of those having been elderly people.

“Statistically, seniors are more likely to develop the more serious forms of the illness including encephalitis and meningitis,” Dr. Christopher Perkins, Medical Director/Health Authority explained in a press release.

Going on to state that anyone bitten by an infected mosquito can contract West Nile, Dr. Perkins stressed the importance of individuals taking personal responsibility and taking precautions.

“Studies show that 80-percent of the people who get the more serious forms of West Nile Virus did not use insect repellent,” he said.

DCHHS Director Zachary Thompson said distributing the insect repellent is even more important this week.

“It is important for the community to remain diligent about using insect repellent – especially heading into the busy Labor Day holiday weekend where many of us will be spending time outdoors.”

Dallas County has been hit particularly hard by West Nile. The number of human cases and related deaths is better put in perspective knowing that Dallas had only seen a total of 10 West Nile virus deaths between 2003 and 2011.

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(credit: CBSDFW.COM

DALLAS COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) – According to Texas law, drivers must come to a complete stop when they see a school bus with its red lights flashing.

New technology will now make it easier to catch those violating the law in Dallas County.

As of Monday, Dallas County Schools and the City of Dallas are now using a high-tech program to protect students getting on or off school buses.
Video cameras have been installed on the automated stop sign arm. The cameras are set up to identify license plates.

The recordings are later reviewed by a licensed police officer and offending motorist is issued a $300 ticket by mail.

Currently Dallas County Schools has a fleet of some 1650 buses, with more than half of those vehicles transporting the 60,000 students attending school in the Dallas Independent School District.

Warnings will be issued until the first week of September, and then tickets will be issued.

The stop arm camera program is the first of its kind in Texas.

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