I was concerned that the spotlight on West Nile Virus would cause all our phones to ring off the hook at the Snohomish Health District. Fortunately, that isn’t the case, thanks to the balanced reporting in The Herald: (“County prepares for WNV as state records first case,” John DeWeese, Aug. 7 and FYI – “Don’t freak out about mosquitoes,” Aug. 12).
After the first few calls, I began to appreciate the good job your staff did by presenting the WNV facts, precautions, national context, and our local surveillance for the mosquitoes and birds that harbor the virus.
Most of the questions we are fielding are about mosquitoes breeding in storm water retention and detention ponds, an area we didn’t discuss in the Aug. 7 article. Your readers need to know that Snohomish Health District does not oversee or regulate retention/detention ponds. If mosquito control concerns lead to policy development in our county, Snohomish Health District certainly intends to be involved in the discussion.
Again, I appreciate The Herald’s skill in informing -not alarming – the public about West Nile Virus.
Assistant Director of Environmental Health
Snohomish County
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