Mosquito Spraying Unlikely, Borough Manager Says

The level of West Nile detected in Doylestown Borough is “nowhere near the threshold at which spraying is considered,” borough Manager John Davis said. 

On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced that mosquitos with West Nile have been recently detected in Doylestown Borough. According to the DEP, 38 sites statewide tested positive for the virus in its most recent sampling. 

Davis said there were “just a handful” of positive samples. At this time, Davis does not believe a spraying is likely in the borough.

According to information from the borough’s Environmental Advisory Council, spraying is required only after 50 specimens in a mosquito trap test positive for West Nile.  “This threshold drops to 25 positives if any human cases of West Nile are reported in the state,” according to a recent EAC report on mosquito spraying.

The borough’s EAC completed the report after a spray done last September proved controversial. During that spray operation, many Doylestown Borough residents protested, physically blocking the spraying vehicle's access to the roadway.

West Nile has been detected throughout the county and as close as Doylestown and Buckingham townships as well. 

Bucks County's West Nile control program sprayed a Buckingham Township park earlier this month in an attempt to eradicate mosquitos with the virus.

A spray was conducted last week in Newtown Township after the DEP detected mosquitos infected with the virus at Tyler State Park. 

Bucks County is listed as a hot zone for West Nile by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Two people in Bucks were sickened by West Nile last year.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Nile is transmitted via mosquitos and there are currently no medications to treat or vaccines to prevent West Nile infection. 

“Fortunately, most people infected with WNV will have no symptoms. About 1 in 5 people who are infected will develop a fever with other symptoms. Less than 1 percent of infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, neurologic illness,” the CDC website says.