Hillsborough County to Conduct Daytime Aerial Mosquito Treatment by Helicopter Starting Oct. 28 to Break Dengue Transmission
Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida — Residents of Tampa and surrounding communities will see low-flying mosquito-control helicopters during the daytime from Oct. 28 to 30. The county announced on Oct. 27 that, to stop the spread of dengue fever, helicopters will conduct aerial larvicide treatments during the week over neighborhoods from Carrollwood through Temple Terrace to Palm River.
The helicopters will spray liquid Bti — Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, a naturally occurring bacterium — over standing water. The treatment disrupts the mosquito breeding cycle and is especially targeted at the mosquitoes that transmit the dengue virus. The county emphasized that the product is harmless to people, pets, fish, birds and beneficial insects, and breaks down naturally in the environment.
The central Tampa treatment area is roughly bounded by Fowler Avenue to the north, Interstate 275 and Interstate 4 to the south, North 50th Street to the east and Dale Mabry Highway to the west. The Palm River treatment area runs from the Selmon Expressway in the north to the Alafia River in the south, and from U.S. Route 301 in the east to Hillsborough Bay in the west. Residents may see helicopters flying low in repeated straight lines over neighborhoods during the treatments and should not be alarmed, the county said.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：埃及伊蚊正在人皮肤上吸血（资料图）。美国疾病控制与预防中心公共卫生图片库，James Gathany 摄，公共领域。 / Photo: An Aedes aegypti mosquito feeding on human skin, file photo. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Image Library; by James Gathany; public domain.
