Osceola County ramping up control efforts following statewide mosquito borne advisory
Every day, Osceola County Mosquito Control are out across the county spraying.
>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
On Monday, they sprayed what is swamp land behind thick trees.
Aside from using products to spray yourself when you leave your home the county wants residents to take other steps like dumping still water and cleaning out your gutters to minimize risks too.
Read: Sanford police investigating death of former school employee found with zip tie around neck
Whenever Yandel Concepcion goes outside mosquitoes aren’t far behind him.
“They’re hard to escape, “said Concepcion. “They’re really annoying especially when I’m at the basketball court and they’re all over me.”
Concepcion and his grandfather live behind a lake and adjacent to swampy wetland.
Read: Two more investigations underway at neglected mobile home park after fire
It’s where Osceola County Mosquito Control spent some time spraying on Monday.
Osceola County Mosquito Control Director Susan Gosselin said her team is hard at work doing preventative care every day.
They’re now working in coordination with their counterparts in Sarasota, where a Malaria outbreak means seven people contracted the disease in Florida for the first time in twenty years Gosselin said.
Read: Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens dies at 70
As Sarasota County has fought the outbreak, residents in Osceola County have called her office with concerns. “They wanted the entire city treated for mosquitoes. That’s a lot of fear.”
But the county wants residents to know Malaria risks are low right not.
Gosselin’s team tracks and counts mosquito species locally and the specific kind of mosquitoes that can transmit Malaria is currently at a low population level.
She said there’s no signs of the disease nearby.
Read: Proposal in Congress increases access and funding for domestic violence survivor programs
“We want to assuage their fears a bit. and we also want them to know that we continue to monitor the population,” Gosselin said.
Gosselin added there is higher risk for other diseases more common in this area from mosquitoes including West Nile Virus.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
