There's no need for Staten Islanders to be overly concerned about an increased threat of West Nile virus as a result of a larger mosquito population in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. At least that's the view of Dan Kass, deputy commissioner for Environmental Health.
He says that there is increased mosquito activity now, but that is typical for August. What's more, he notes that inspectors have found 32 pools on Staten Island containing insects infected by the virus this summer. Last summer, they found 98.
The department is spraying portions of the North, East and South shores this week as a precaution because "we're finding that the number of sites with West Nile virus and the number of mosquitoes at those sites have gone up."
Spraying is done to reduce the population of adult mosquitoes. Earlier this year, the agency also dropped larvicide in marshy areas to kill off the insects before they grow into biting adults.
However, the department has refrained from adopting an aggressive spraying schedule of the kind some people have called for. It claims it has found no evidence of an atypical spike in the mosquito population.
"I feel as if we've struck a balance," he said.
He added, "I'm confident that we have a very good system."
We hope he's right. However, there are some on Staten Island, including several elected officials, who don't share that confidence in the Health Department's subdued response to what seemed to be an inevitable surge in the mosquito population after Sandy.
After all, as Councilman James Oddo pointed out, Hurricane Sandy left many more places where water can collect — especially in and around abandoned properties.
Sure enough, he discovered that researchers from Tulane University found more than 5,000 new pools of standing water in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
It only stands to reason that the same thing would happen around here after Sandy, as well. Certainly, anyone who has spent time outside this summer can attest that the mosquitoes seem to be more plentiful than in the past.
Nevertheless, Mr. Kass insisted, "We're not seeing anything unusual [this summer]."
However, he added. "The rest of the summer is still a mystery — that's why we are so vigilant."
We're glad to hear it. There's a long way to go until cold weather kills off this year's apparent bumper crop of mosquitoes.