Nine dead from West Nile virus in Dallas County, Texas...

nydailynews.com ^ | August 10, 2012

[ilovesarah2012]

DALLAS - Dallas County's top official has declared a public health emergency, saying the spread of the West Nile virus has become epidemic. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins announced the declaration in a statement issued Thursday night. Jenkins says county officials are doing all they can to fight the spread of the virus but need the public to do their part. Dallas County health officials have reported 162 West Nile virus cases and nine West Nile deaths so far this year. Mosquitoes pick up the virus from birds they bite and then spread it to people.

[ansel12]

Don't be skeptical. Here is the google link, for page after page of links, for account after account of it. Running Behind the DDT Truck

Here is one account "If you are close to my age, you remember in the mid-to-late-1950's running behind the DDT trucks. My mom would feed us early enough that we were done with dinner in time to run after the trucks as they sprayed our neighborhood several times per week, sometimes even every night, with a thick and exciting bank of fog. Much like an ice cream truck, we couldn't wait for the sounds of the fogger motors as they rounded the corner to our street.

Kids would ride bikes, skate, and run behind them. The trucks came to our beaches where mosquito populations were high. There was a poster that I remember that hung on the wall of our school showing the government spraying school lunch room food to show that there was no danger to the children"

This movie trailer shows what it was like. The Spray Truck

Here is a photo and a sketch.

[ilovesarah2012]

Scary that one little mosquito can kill you.

[who knows what evil?]

That is nine more added to Rachel Carson’s genocidal tab...

[Calvin Locke]

I saw the other day that MA has an active case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

Another mosquito-born disease.

[ilovesarah2012]

News of the EEE case comes a day after officials announced that six communities would be slated for renewed aerial spraying to combat the insects that spread the disease. An initial round of pesticide spraying over 21 Southeastern communities two weeks ago reduced populations of infected mosquitoes by 60 percent, officials said.

Health officials also raised the risk level Wednesday in several communities, based on increased numbers of human-biting mosquitoes detected. The level was raised from high to critical in West Bridgewater, Easton, Raynham, and Taunton. Norton and Bridgewater moved up from moderate to high risk levels. All six communities will get repeat spraying.

Following this week’s announcement, Bridgewater said it began closing public parks at 7 p.m., slightly earlier than the normal dusk closing time, said town manager Richard Kerbel.

http://www.boston.com/whitecoatnotes/2012/08/08/metrowest-man-year-first-eee-case-but-apparently-was-infected-out-state/6gMzzWbsPKIsimRaogxjVO/story.html?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed7

[Marie]

When I was young, my friend and I were playing dolls in the front yard. A truck came down our street and sprayed us directly.

Yeah. There was no way he didn’t see us.

[A_Former_Democrat]

Joni Mitchell stole it so she could have the birds and the bees

[skeeter]

Thanks.

This skeeter ain't going anywhere.

I got all my viruses under control.

[DoughtyOne]

Yeah, but are WE safe? That’s all I want to know! ;^)

Take care bud.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

We stayed cool by running behind DDT spray trucks in 1956 Farmington NM. We lived near the Animas River south of town. Lots of mosquitoes there.

[ladyjane]

Growing up in Houston we children breathed in DDT by running and bicycling behind the “smoke” trucks,

I've been wondering about some of your posts.

just kidding

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***And no parent with any degree of responsibility would have permitted that, whether the ingredient was DDT or anything else.****

DDT is perfectly harmless to people. We used to spray it on ourselves to keep the mosquitoes away in SE ASIA.

[steve86]

DDT is perfectly harmless to people.

That isn't the point. A parent who KNOWS a child is following or even playing in any kind of industrial fumigant and permits that to happen isn't a fit parent, then or now.

[M. Thatcher]

no parent with any degree of responsibility would have permitted that

You obviously did not grow up in the 1950s-60s.

When I was a kid, we were allowed to roam - especially on bikes. No parent had any degree of clue what we were doing.

I remember constantly jumping out of a high tree onto an old (no doubt disease-ridden) mattress in an abandoned secluded area. If any of us had gotten hurt, adult help was literally miles away.

Amazingly, we survived.

[steve86]

Yes, I grew up in the 1950s-60s and roamed ten miles on the bike in second grade and jumped out of second floor windows in houses under construction and rode dirt bikes on the street (still do) and a lot of other stuff. But no fit parent who is aware of the situation would allow her kids to play in a cloud of industrial fumigant.

[M. Thatcher]

Read the thread. Photos and everything.

[berdie]

“We used to chase the trucks on our bikes...”

We did the same. AND we (at least we didn’t) wear helmets!

With all the lead paint, lack of seatbelts and unhealthy food, I’m surprised that anyone is left.

I have been wondering of late why as children we could all be covered with mosquito bites, just rub on Camphophinique (sp?) on them and not get West Nile. At least this thread answered that question. No doubt Campho is powerful stuff, lol, but I now can understand it is lack of DDT.

[piroque]

Eastern Equine Encephalitis

we've lost one horse (2-yr old filly) in Alabama and a neighbor across the river lost a stud couple weeks ago. The state has a major out break . Here in Louisiana there has been 4 human deaths in the last few weeks.

[steve86]

Yes, you certainly documented your case that it happened.

I guess I was/am the only person here with an innate aversion to inhaling droplets of insecticide, then and now.

I remember worrying about the smoke from a dump when I was 8 in 1964.

I could have seen myself watching the mosquito truck junkies from a distance and wondering WTF (although the acronym probably wasn’t invented yet) are those people thinking?

This apparently was the same mentality that led to cavalierly handling mildly radioactive items in the late forties. After all, the authorities would tell us if it might be dangerous.

Evidently it hadn’t occurred to anyone that problems might not manifest for a few decades.

[steve86]

The West Nile in your area must be a more virulent/morbid strain than what we’ve got here. Only one serious human case I’m aware of although quite a few asymptomatic or mild symptom people have tested positive. Very sorry about the horses.