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VICTORIA – Government has taken another step to ensure the province is well prepared in advance of a potential finding of West Nile virus.
As part of the province’s co-ordinated West Nile virus strategy, the Minister of Health Services has obtained a permit under the Pesticide Control Act to control mosquitoes should they pose a public health risk due to the virus. The permit ensures health officials can respond quickly to protect British Columbians. It also provides a legal mechanism to allow pesticide application if health officials determine the virus poses a public-health threat.
Although there is no evidence of West Nile in any region of B.C., the virus has spread across North America since 1999. Human cases have been reported as close as Alberta.
Under the permit issued by the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, local governments or other agencies acting on advice from the local medical health officer may request authorization to apply larvicides and/or adulticides by ground or air in their areas.
To determine if pesticide use is warranted to control the spread of the disease, provincial and local health officials would evaluate:
Pesticides covered under the permit include the larvicides Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis, or Bti, and methoprene, and the adulticides malathion and pyrethrum. The permit does not allow wide-scale, unnecessary application of pesticides and is not a means to control nuisance mosquitoes.
All pesticides approved for use under the permit have been evaluated by the federal Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency, including scientific assessments of risks to human health and the environment, and deemed safe when used as directed. To ensure pesticides are applied properly and in a manner that protects public health and safety, only certified pesticide applicators may use pesticides under this permit.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control, health authorities and municipalities are monitoring all regions of the province for the virus. B.C.’s extensive surveillance program includes testing mosquitoes and dead crows, ravens, magpies and jays – the bird family most susceptible to the disease.
Government agencies at the municipal, provincial and federal levels have been working together since last year to ensure B.C. is prepared when the virus arrives in the province. The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is leading the strategy. The permit is another tool to assist B.C. health officials in their response to the virus’s arrival.
Pesticide permit #776-001-2003/2004 enables the Minister of Health Services to authorize local governments without their own permit to use pesticides for mosquito control on the recommendation of the local medical health officer. A request for authorization must identify the proposed pesticide and area of application and provide documentation from the local medical health officer.
Public announcements by municipal or health authorities will inform area residents if health officials recommend pesticide use to protect the public from the threat of West Nile.
The permit has been granted for mosquito control activities in the summer and fall of 2003 and in 2004, if necessary. The permit, application and information on West Nile virus may be viewed at www.healthplanning.gov.bc.ca/pho/wnv.html online.
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