This time, that buzzing sound in your ear may not be coming from a mosquito, but part of Ottawa Public Health’s (OPH) multi-pronged strategy to keep the insects — and the potentially dangerous viruses they may carry — under control.
The public health agency is deploying drones capable of carrying and distributing mosquito-killing larvicides.
The technology is provided and operated by GDG Environment. Richard Trudel, a scientific advisor to the company, says larger areas require larger drones.
The company’s larger drone can spread larvicide within a six-meter radius and reach places that are typically hard to reach.
“It’s really sophisticated, very efficient. It’s designed to blow the product away and put it in the right place,” Trudel said.
Killing mosquito larvae isn’t the only thing the program does to prevent the virus from spreading. It also tests the insects to identify where the virus might be present. This year, so far, five groups of mosquitoes and one person tested positive.
West Nile virus is spread mainly by the domestic mosquito.. Only a small number of people bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus will become infected.
About 20 percent of infected people may develop flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache, muscle aches and rash.
Severe disease occurs in less than one percent of infections; the virus can affect the central nervous system. The risk of severe disease increases with age and is also higher in people with weakened immune systems, OPH says.
Covering the earth and sky
OPH also monitors the mosquito population on the ground.
Allyson Hopkin, a third-year biology student who is interning at OPH, helps treat residential areas by bike. Her bike is equipped with a pesticide dispenser and a paint sprayer that leaves a trail so staff can track which storm drains have been treated.
Alison Samuel, OPH public health officer and West Nile virus program manager, said the larvicide used is safe for pets and people, as well as the water bodies treated with the agent.
“I don’t want to go into technical details, but VectoLex, Metoprene and BTI are products approved by the MCP, the Ministry of Environment, and are known to be environmentally friendly,” Samuel said.
There are a number of ways to protect yourself, including using insect repellent, wearing long pants and long shirt sleeves, and avoiding being outdoors at dusk and dawn.
“They can make sure there’s no standing water because mosquitoes need water to breed. So even simple things like, you know, dog bowls, trash cans, garbage cans, things like that, anything that can hold water,” Samuel said.
Mosquitoes can make going outside a chore, said Ottawa resident Toufik Serhan. His wife agrees it’s a problem and showed off the bites she received.
Serhan said they were worried about their children because they had reacted badly to them before.
He said that when one of his children was bitten, “it was like an elephant’s ear, so we had to take them to the hospital where they were given antibiotics.”
As part of its plan for programs to prevent the spread of West Nile virus, GDG will apply larvicides to private retention ponds at the request of residents, in addition to standard cleaning of municipal retention ponds and roadside stormwater basins.
“I hope they will continue spraying and taking care of us, in my area and everywhere here, so that we can live in peace with mosquitoes,” Serhan said.
