Lynn, Saugus, Peabody to spray for West Nile

SAUGUS – Lynn, Saugus and Peabody will conduct targeted mosquito spraying this week after positive tests for the West Nile Virus. Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control will do the spraying, which will take place Tuesday evening in Lynn and Peabody and Wednesday evening in Saugus.In Saugus, targeted spraying will be done in the Riverside Cemetery area including parts of Main, Hamilton, Winter and Central Streets, Hurd Avenue and School Street and streets inside those areas.Spraying in Saugus will be conducted on Wednesday after sunset, weather permitting.Northeast Control crews will spray inside Pine Grove Cemetery in Lynn and streets around the cemetery Tuesday night and in Peabody Tuesday along several streets and in parks.Peabody Health Director Sharon Cameron in a press release stated that residents living in areas where spraying takes place do not need to take precautions “…but may choose to stay indoors or close windows and shut off air conditioners when the truck is on their street…”Lynn Health Director MaryAnn O’Connor said a mosquito sample collected in Pine Grove last week tested positive for West Nile Virus. O’Connor said Northeast’s crew will spray in and around the cemetery Tuesday between 9 p.m. and midnight. In the event of rain, spraying will be delayed until Wednesday.West Nile, according to the state Department of Public Health, is a virus carried by mosquitoes that can cause trigger mild fever as well as more serious illness. Eight out of 10 people infected by the virus will not have symptoms, according to a DPH fact sheet.Symptoms range from fever and headache to skin rashes. Less than 1 percent of people infected with West Nile, according to the fact sheet, develop severe illness. Between 2000 and 2010, 67 people – according to DPH – were reported with West Nile infection and six died.Saugus Public Health Director Frank Giacalone said spraying is done at sunset because it’s the peak time for mosquito activity, noting the spray is low-dosage.”People should probably avoid being out there,” said Giacalone. “It’s not that it really hurts you, but you don’t want to be around anything that’s spraying. It’s contact type chemical that’s going to knock down the population that’s actually there that’s flying. That’s why they do it at night.”Giacalone said Saugus hasn’t done town-wide spraying in seven or eight years, but does the targeted spraying around areas where positive West Nile Virus tests are found.Other cities and towns with positive samples include Lynnfield, Revere, Marblehead, Middleton and Beverly, according to the Office of Health and Human Services.Northeast will spray in Peabody Tuesday after 8 p.m. in neighborhoods bordered by Winona, Lake and Lowell streets and the Lynnfield line, as well as streets around parks including Corbeil, Ross and Symphony parks and the Greenway bicycle path.O’Connor, in an email, stated that spraying cannot kill all infected mosquitos. To take precautions against being bitten, anyone going outdoors outdoors should take precautions, including using insect repellent and wearing long sleeve shirts and pants. Standing water in yards or next to homes or garages should be emptied and netting should be placed over baby carriages and play pens.Giacalone said residents should take precautions against mosquito bite by wearing bug repellent, wearing long sleeves and emptying any standing water that may be in bird baths or gutters.