The province has announced plans for mosquito fogging in Winnipeg and Altona due to concerns about the West Nile virus. According to a news release from Thursday, there are significant numbers of mosquitoes in these areas, and some have tested positive for the virus. Although no locally acquired human cases of West Nile virus have been reported in Manitoba this year, the risk of exposure remains high.
As of August 1, two human cases of the virus linked to travel outside Canada have been confirmed. Additionally, 42 mosquito samples have tested positive for the virus, with 34 of those from the Southern Health Region.
To monitor the Culex tarsalis mosquitoes, which are most likely to spread the virus, traps are set up in 21 locations across southern Manitoba. These traps, which use carbon dioxide as bait, are operated twice a week in each community. In Winnipeg and Brandon, where larger populations exist, additional traps are used.
The province, under The Environment Act, has mandated fogging in areas where the risk of West Nile virus transmission is high. Weather permitting, fogging will commence on Friday night using DeltaGard 20EW, a reduced-risk pesticide.
In Winnipeg, fogging will cover an area that also includes parts of the Rural Municipality of Macdonald, with boundaries extending from Wilkes Avenue in the north to Road 8 East in the west. Another fogging zone will encompass part of the RM of West St. Paul, with limits from Grassmere Road in the north to Pipeline Road in the west.
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