'Tragic learning experience' last year brings local leaders together to plan'
By Graham Webster
May 6th, 2003
Daily Northwestern
SKOKIE -- Mosquito
season is coming, and the North Shore is preparing for what could be another
summer plagued by the West Nile virus.
Public education and
better communication among government organizations were main topics addressed
by about 120 people during a forum, held at the Skokie Village Hall, 5127
Oakton St., Monday morning. The event, the North Suburban Forum on West Nile
virus, was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.
West Nile infected 884
Illinois residents and caused 64 deaths in 2002, according to the national Web
site for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials said Cook
County and the North Shore had especially high concentrations of infection.
"Last year was a
tragic learning experience for us in this region," Schakowsky said.
It is necessary to
communicate to the public how to prevent mosquitoes from spawning in standing
water, speakers said. The news media, public service announcements, Web sites
and municipal newsletters were cited as ways to inform the population.
"I think we've just
been learning about the extent to which residential catch basins have
contributed to the problem," said Jay Terry, director of Health and Human
Services for the city of Evanston.
North Shore Mosquito
Abatement District representatives said they are working on a public education
campaign in area newspapers telling people how to eliminate mosquito breeding
grounds in their yards.
Funding is another
issue for agencies dealing with West Nile. The Illinois Department of Public
Health, for example, diverted about $1.9 million last year from its programs to
fight West Nile.
"At this point we do
not have any plans to provide funding in 2003," said Linn Haramis, an
entomologist for the Public Health Department.
Under a new bill
passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, Schakowsky said Illinois and other
states will be able to receive federal grants to help fight mosquito-borne
diseases such as West Nile. The Senate has not yet voted on the bill, known as
the Mosquito Abatement for Safety and Health Act.
Haramis said West Nile
likely will spread during the summer, affecting more states. "It will probably
reach the West Coast this year," he said.
West Nile appeared in
New York in 1999 and has been spreading ever since. In 2002 the CDC recorded
one human case in California, and animals were infected in Washington.
Some elected officials
present expressed concern over the effectiveness of the North Shore Mosquito
Abatement District, which is in charge of controlling the mosquito population
in about a dozen municipalities, including Evanston.
"One of the things we
learned is that the four (mosquito abatement districts) had different standards
in testing," Terry said.
After questioning the
district's public-education programs, Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin,
D-Evanston, addressed two district representatives.
"It's important to us
to help communicate that your organization is doing (its) job," Suffredin said.
"But first we have to be confident you are doing your job."
Beyond administrative
issues, some residents expressed environmental concerns over the use of
pesticides used to kill mosquitoes.
"Their job is
particularly hard in Evanston because we have equally passionate residents on
both sides," Terry said.
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