News

Actions

City, Department of Agriculture taking proactive steps to prevent Zika, West Nile Virus

Posted at 11:21 PM, Aug 28, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-29 06:17:22-04

It's two things many don't want to hear about, the Zika and West Nile Viruses.  Because of that, the City of Baltimore and The Department of Agriculture teamed up to take some precautionary action.

The spraying happened Sunday night to address the public health concern over those mosquito borne diseases between Cooldige and Benson Avenues and from Sharonleigh Road to S.Grantley Street in the city.

Residents say they're happy to see such proactive steps for the community.

"I believe that it's a good preventative measure," said Kim Zlotorzynski.

"It's all preventative so it can't be overboard right?" said Joe Gemmell.

Kenny Smith told ABC2, "I like the fact that the city as actually finally doing something on their own instead of being pressured to do it." 

Smith lives in the neighborhood that was sprayed with his family and says he's seen the amount of mosquitoes increase.

"I've noticed that the mosquitoes in this area have gotten worse within the past 2 or 3 years."

And his neighbors feel the same way.

"You can only be outside for like maybe less than 5 minutes sometimes and then you're getting bit up," Zlotorzynski said.

That's why the city has teamed up with the department of agriculture for this kind of spraying.

"It just shows that the city does care about us and that they're not just there, they're actually out for the residents like they say they are," Gemmell said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 77 Zika cases in Maryland this year to date -- all in people who traveled outside the country.

"That's my biggest concern.  If one of my children were to get bitten and there isn't a way to cure them, I'm supposed to be buried by them," Smith said.

"It's just something dangerous, i got an infant in that house you know what i mean and it's just not something that we need to deal with," said Gemmell.

Residents say everyone needs to step up to keep the area safer.

"I know that standing water is a big thing with mosquitoes you will not see anything in my backyard that has standing water in it," Smith said.

24-48 hours after spraying, state and local inspectors will go door-to-door looking for mosquito breeding sites.

Residents are asked to monitor their properties for mosquito prone areas and contact the city with concerns.

Download the ABC2 News app for the iPhone, Kindle and Android