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E-mail This StoryFollowing confirmation that a mosquito collected on the east side of Flower Mound has tested positive for the West Nile virus, the town will begin spraying operations this week.
Between 10 p.m. Thursday and 4 a.m. Friday, the town will spray in the area located between Morriss Road and Garden Ridge Boulevard, south from Cross Timbers Road to Forest Vista Drive.
This is the second sample of the West Nile virus-infected mosquitoes identified in Flower Mound this year. One was found a week ago south of Cross Timbers Road, along Kirkpatrick Lane. So far, there have been no reports of humans contracting the West Nile virus from this instance.
“If we know there is a mosquito out here with it, then we know we have some in the general area,” said Perry Robinson, environmental health manager for Flower Mound. “We don’t have any idea if someone gets the virus until they get sick or don’t get sick. Statistics show that between 1 to 3 percent of mosquitoes infected with the West Nile virus transmit the virus to humans if they bite someone, and between 1 to 3 percent of those people will develop symptoms of the disease. It’s a small percentage, but it’s significant. We have to take precautionary measures because nobody wants to be in that 1-3 percent.”
In late May, the Denton County Health Department reported that someone living in Flower Mound had been positively diagnosed with the West Nile fever, a non-neurological, less severe form of the West Nile virus.
Residents in the affected neighborhoods will be notified with community signs and are advised to minimize exposure when possible.
The town encourages residents to stay indoors during spraying, keep a safe distance from a spraying truck, close windows, cover fish ponds and bring pets inside.
If the spray makes contact with skin or eyes, officials suggest washing the skin with soap and water and rinsing eyes with water or saline solution.
Exposed food, as well as outside furniture and toys, should be washed with soap and water as well before use.
There are no special precautions or waiting periods recommended for swimming pools as a result of the spraying, according to a release issued by the town.
Town staff will continue to conduct additional inspections and monitor the area after treatment. The insecticide used in spraying is applied at ultra-low levels, breaks down quickly and does not leave a toxic residue, the release said.
Flower Mound Environmental Services responds to all mosquito concerns with an inspection of the area, larvicidal treatment of any potential mosquito breeding areas and increased efforts to eliminate areas of standing water.
