Mosquitoes

BURBANK — Vector control officials are asking the public to alter their water use as West Nile virus contraction rates continue to climb throughout the state despite an oppressive drought this year. West Nile virus rates are up since last year amid a record-setting dry spell mostly because homeowners are over-watering their lawns and neglecting small pools of water, officials said. The virus has not turned up in Glendale, but the city is now at the midpoint between two locations that have produced West Nile-positive mosquitoes in the county, said Truc Dever, spokeswoman for the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District.

Mark R. Madler City officials reported this week the city is actively eliminating sources that breed mosquitoes that can carry the West Nile virus. Standing water, which is a primary breeding ground for mosquitoes, has been the major target for the city, City Manager Mary Alvord said. "We've trained field crews in all departments what to do when they find standing water, and we are being as aggressive as we can," Alvord said. The City Council on Tuesday discussed its efforts to fight the virus following a presentation on West Nile by representatives from the Los Angeles County Health Department and the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District.

Jackson Bell The bodies of several birds found recently throughout the city have tested positive for the potentially deadly West Nile virus, authorities said Friday. Burbank Animal Shelter personnel, concerned with the rise in cases of the virus in the area, submitted the birds to the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services for testing, Burbank Police Sgt. Jay Jette said. The police department runs the shelter. On Thursday, health officials told Burbank Police that birds collected from ZIP Codes 91501, 91504, 91505 and 91506 were infected with the virus, Jette said.

Laura Sturza Without the Vector Control District, residents would be scratching mosquito bites as regularly as people on the East Coast and other areas famous for a proliferation of pests, according to Harvey Paskow, the city's representative to the group. "Why do you think there are no mosquitoes here?" Paskow said. "Because we take care of it." The 35 members of the Greater Los Angeles County district work to reduce insects to the point where they aren't a nuisance, an infectious risk or a threat to property.

BURBANK — The recent rise in foreclosed homes in Burbank and Glendale due to the recession has led to an increase in abandoned swimming pools, creating prime breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes and potential drowning hazards, authorities said. Helicopter patrol officers have reported a 10% to 15% increase in grimy pools over the same period last year, many of them attributable to abandoned foreclosures, prompting agencies to actively seek them out as the West Nile virus season takes hold.

Mark R. Madler City officials aren't sure what to make of the proposed state budget deal, but at least the millions of dollars earmarked for fighting mosquitoes has been restored, an issue of particular importance to Burbank after authorities found several dead birds infected with the West Nile virus. The latest budget deal includes funding for mosquito abatement and vector control districts, an issue Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Burbank) has been championing.

Laura Sturza BURBANK -- Pieces of debris in the road don't stand a chance when street sweeper Roger Gibbs comes after them in his twin-engine diesel Mobile Sweeper. The lifelong Burbank resident was honored for outstanding service at a Tuesday awards ceremony with seven other city Public Works employees. Gibbs, 47, has been tending to city streets and alleys since 1985, and was first employed by the city as a truck driver in 1979. "It's gratifying to know that you've done a good job," Gibbs said of his five-man team's handiwork, which also helps to ensure residents' health and safety.

Students from Burbank and John Burroughs high schools have raised nearly $2,000 to purchase mosquito nets to help families from Gaborone, Botswana — one of Burbank’s four sister cities — protect themselves from malaria, which is rampant in the country. The disease is estimated to cause more than a million deaths each year in Africa, and it kills one child in every 20 before the age of 5, according to the Malaria Foundation International. Burbank Sister City Committee member and Burbank High teacher Dena Zelig organized the fundraiser after a teacher in the country alerted her to the problem.

BURBANK — The first West Nile virus-related death in Los Angeles County and the discovery in Burbank of a bird carrying the virus have area health officials keeping a close eye on the virus. A man infected with West Nile virus died earlier this month, possibly marking the first death caused by the virus this year, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced Friday. The San Fernando Valley resident, who was more than 80 years old and had several chronic medical problems, died in early August after a brief hospitalization, department spokeswoman Rachel Tyree said.

Jackson Bell After state officials announced the first fatality from the West Nile virus, Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Burbank) has turned up the pressure on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to drop proposed budget cuts in mosquito control. Assemblywoman Nicole Parra (D-Bakersfield) joined Frommer's call to restore about $12 million in funding to vector-control districts throughout the state. Parra got on board after birds in the Central Valley recently tested positive for the virus.

BURBANK — The recent rise in foreclosed homes in Burbank and Glendale due to the recession has led to an increase in abandoned swimming pools, creating prime breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes and potential drowning hazards, authorities said. Helicopter patrol officers have reported a 10% to 15% increase in grimy pools over the same period last year, many of them attributable to abandoned foreclosures, prompting agencies to actively seek them out as the West Nile virus season takes hold.

Students from Burbank and John Burroughs high schools have raised nearly $2,000 to purchase mosquito nets to help families from Gaborone, Botswana — one of Burbank’s four sister cities — protect themselves from malaria, which is rampant in the country. The disease is estimated to cause more than a million deaths each year in Africa, and it kills one child in every 20 before the age of 5, according to the Malaria Foundation International. Burbank Sister City Committee member and Burbank High teacher Dena Zelig organized the fundraiser after a teacher in the country alerted her to the problem.

BURBANK — Vector control officials are asking the public to alter their water use as West Nile virus contraction rates continue to climb throughout the state despite an oppressive drought this year. West Nile virus rates are up since last year amid a record-setting dry spell mostly because homeowners are over-watering their lawns and neglecting small pools of water, officials said. The virus has not turned up in Glendale, but the city is now at the midpoint between two locations that have produced West Nile-positive mosquitoes in the county, said Truc Dever, spokeswoman for the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District.

Mark R. Madler City officials reported this week the city is actively eliminating sources that breed mosquitoes that can carry the West Nile virus. Standing water, which is a primary breeding ground for mosquitoes, has been the major target for the city, City Manager Mary Alvord said. "We've trained field crews in all departments what to do when they find standing water, and we are being as aggressive as we can," Alvord said. The City Council on Tuesday discussed its efforts to fight the virus following a presentation on West Nile by representatives from the Los Angeles County Health Department and the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District.

Mark R. Madler City officials aren't sure what to make of the proposed state budget deal, but at least the millions of dollars earmarked for fighting mosquitoes has been restored, an issue of particular importance to Burbank after authorities found several dead birds infected with the West Nile virus. The latest budget deal includes funding for mosquito abatement and vector control districts, an issue Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Burbank) has been championing.

Jackson Bell The bodies of several birds found recently throughout the city have tested positive for the potentially deadly West Nile virus, authorities said Friday. Burbank Animal Shelter personnel, concerned with the rise in cases of the virus in the area, submitted the birds to the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services for testing, Burbank Police Sgt. Jay Jette said. The police department runs the shelter. On Thursday, health officials told Burbank Police that birds collected from ZIP Codes 91501, 91504, 91505 and 91506 were infected with the virus, Jette said.

Laura Sturza Without the Vector Control District, residents would be scratching mosquito bites as regularly as people on the East Coast and other areas famous for a proliferation of pests, according to Harvey Paskow, the city's representative to the group. "Why do you think there are no mosquitoes here?" Paskow said. "Because we take care of it." The 35 members of the Greater Los Angeles County district work to reduce insects to the point where they aren't a nuisance, an infectious risk or a threat to property.

Laura Sturza BURBANK -- Pieces of debris in the road don't stand a chance when street sweeper Roger Gibbs comes after them in his twin-engine diesel Mobile Sweeper. The lifelong Burbank resident was honored for outstanding service at a Tuesday awards ceremony with seven other city Public Works employees. Gibbs, 47, has been tending to city streets and alleys since 1985, and was first employed by the city as a truck driver in 1979. "It's gratifying to know that you've done a good job," Gibbs said of his five-man team's handiwork, which also helps to ensure residents' health and safety.