Fewer dollars in 2009 to combat West Nile

Despite finding itself without federal funding and after a failed attempt to raise more money in the 2009 legislative session, the state Department of Health has managed to distribute $200,000 worth of mosquito control chemicals to 177 public cities, counties and American Indian tribes.

Now, it’s just a matter of seeing what those pared-down resources can do in the fight against West Nile virus.

“It’s always hard to tell whether we’re going to have a bad West Nile year or not,” said Tom Martinec, director of health systems development and regulation for the state Department of Health. “Certainly, there are going to be mosquitoes this year, but whether West Nile is a big issue or not is yet to be determined.”

Last year, the DOH was able to distribute approximately $623,000 — a combination of state and federal money — in funding throughout South Dakota. Tight economic conditions led to cuts in that funding in 2009, leaving the DOH to distribute mosquito control chemicals instead of monetary resources.

Most of the chemicals were left over from last year, Martinec said, although a small amount was purchased with money that was “scraped together.”

First reported in South Dakota in 2002, West Nile has been a source of illness and, in some cases death, within the state. Since then, cities, counties and tribes have increased their efforts to thin mosquito numbers. In the past six years, the state has reported more than 1,700 cases of West Nile, with 26 deaths. More than 200 communities now perform mosquito control.

Even though the spring and summer of 2008 were wet — ideal for mosquito reproduction — Martinec said the number of West Nile cases was low, with 39 reported cases.

Part of that can be credited to a lower number of culex tarsalis, the mosquito most likely to spread the virus in the Midwest.

“It really turned out to be a mild year for West Nile cases because the type of mosquito that carries West Nile wasn’t there,” Martinec said. “There were a lot of nuisance mosquitoes, but it didn’t translate into a lot of West Nile cases.”

Early in the 2009 South Dakota legislative session, Gov. Mike Rounds requested $300,000 in funding for mosquito control. However, Martinec said budget cuts meant the money never made it to the DOH.

“We just found enough basically to purchase some more chemical so that we could put enough packages together to distribute,” Martinec said.

Federal stimulus money was never an option, Martinec said, and it’s now up to local entitities to decide how much extra funding they will provide their individual programs.

“Some counties are a lot more aggressive than others and put a lot more resources in it,” Martinec said. “Mosquito control is most effectively done at the local level as opposed to the state level.”

Following is a list of area cities, counties and tribes that received 2009 mosquito chemical awards from the state: Alexandria, Armour, Avon, Bon Homme County, Bonesteel, Burke, Canistota, Canova, Carthage, Chamberlain, Charles Mix County, Corsica, Delmont, Emery, Freeman, Fulton, Geddes, Gregory, Howard, Kimball, Letcher, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Mitchell, Montrose, Oacoma, Parkston, Plankinton, Platte, Presho, Pukwana, Reliance, Salem, Scotland, Spencer, Springfield, Stickney, Tabor, Tripp, Wagner, Wessington Springs, White Lake, Winner and Woonsocket.

Tags: west nile, mosquito control, tom martinec, south dakota department of health, news