News of recent deaths from Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) from around the state have heightened awareness of the mosquito-borne illness. But it has not prompted area officials to do any additional mosquito spraying other than originally scheduled.
The Suffolk County Mosquito Control project sprays Belle Isle Marsh between July and October with a larvicide that targets and kills the mosquito larva within the marsh’s saltmarsh pans, according to Olivia Dorrance, press secretary for the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The Suffolk County Mosquito, which represents the interests of Boston, Chelsea, and their residents in providing guidance and oversight to the Suffolk County Mosquito Control Project. Northeast Mosquito Control works with the city of Revere and town of Winthrop, Essex County and the Merrimack Valley area.
“To date there has been no additional spraying in Winthrop or Revere,†said Kim Foss, an entomologist for Northeast mosquito control.
Based on test traps in the Belle Isle Marsh, the Eastern Saltmarsh Mosquito is present within Belle Isle Marsh and is not known to carry any pathogens including, but not limited to, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). “Importantly, in an effort to protect Belle Isle Marsh, a designated Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), the use of insecticides other than a larvicide is discouraged as they can be detrimental to the marsh’s ecosystem, Dorrance said
