Citing budget constraints, public health officials in Jefferson County say they’re cutting a spraying program that prevents the mosquito responsible for carrying West Nile Virus from breeding.
Instead, they’re calling on individual property owners to monitor and treat standing water on their land.
“We’re not going to have a contractor out checking standing water to see if mosquitoes are breeding, and treating the water with larvicide this year,” said Dr. Jim Dale, director of the Jefferson County Public Health Department.
Dale says previous annual costs for Jefferson County have been as high as $300,000 depending on the year. He says cities in the county will still carry out their programs.
In 2010, the county had one confirmed human case of West Nile Virus. That’s compared to 81statewide.
