Residents of Warwick can call 738-2000 ext. 6518 for information about ground spraying in their area all evening until spraying is completed. Residents of Cranston can call 942-9200 until 8 p.m. for information about ground spraying in their area. The DEM Mosquito Information line (789-8575) will temporarily be manned until 8 p.m. on weekdays for general information.

Media contact at DEM is Stephanie Powell, 222-4700 ext. 4418, pager 482-2968. DEM will issue additional bulletins on an as needed basis to report on new information.

The RI Departments of Health and Environmental Management are responding in accordance with their joint Response Protocol for Mosquito-Borne Diseases (including Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus). This Protocol also governs state-local coordination on prevention, preparedness and response. The Protocol is posted on the DEM web page (see below). More details follow below.

Key phone numbers for obtaining or reporting information are as follows:

Status of Incident: The first finding of West Nile Virus in Rhode Island was in a crow collected on Pine Street in the Norwood section of Warwick, close to the Cranston border, on August 8, tested at the University of Rhode Island virology laboratory and reported by the URI lab to DEM late Sunday afternoon.

Status of Activities: DEM initiated its Mosquito-Borne Diseases Response Protocol, and contacted the Governor, mayors of Warwick and Cranston, state agencies, and area legislators Sunday evening. A meeting between DEM officials, the mayors of Cranston and Warwick and public works officials from the two cities was held at 10 a.m. today, where DEM handed out GIS-generated locus maps that identified 204 street miles within the two-mile ground spray radius recommended under the protocol. Based on the spray rate of the state's four available sprayers, which will be loaned to the communities, spraying is estimated to take five hours. There is an agreement between the cities that each will provide two trucks to pick up the sprayers.

The target spray date is Tuesday evening beginning at 7 p.m., weather permitting, with the rain date being Wednesday evening beginning at 7 p.m. The cities have agreed to begin spraying at opposite poles of the treatment circle, working toward each other, with the expectation that crews from both cities will help each other. Cranston has agreed to spray the areas of the state institutions and the prison complex, and will coordinate with state officials on Tuesday morning. It has been agreed that it is unnecessary to spray T.F. Green Airport since its open terrain is not suspected of supporting mosquito populations.

A media briefing was held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 15 at Warwick City Hall, attended by Warwick and Cranston officials and representatives from DEM and the Department of Health, where it was announced that the decision on when to spray would be made at 2 p.m. after later weather reports. Each of the two cities will send drivers with two trucks to pick up the sprayers at DEM's Pawtuxet supply depot on Warwick Avenue in Cranston at 2 p.m. Tuesday. The four sprayers, already calibrated and ready to go, are equipped with sufficient amounts of the pesticide Sumithrin and safety equipment to adequately treat the response area. Additional larvicide in the form of Altacid for treating catch basins and BTI for treating retention basins will also be picked up from DEM by the two cities at that time. The decision to spray was made at at mid-afternoon, after checking the latest weather forecasts.

Sumithrin is a pyrethroid-based adulticide effective for controlling mosquitoes. The active ingredient in Sumithrin is a man-made pesticide, similar to natural groups of pesticides called pyrethrin, which come from plants such as the common chrysanthemum. These pesticides are also used in pet shampoos, flea sprays and household insect sprays. Spraying will be at dosage levels far below human health threshholds, per EPA guidelines.

Spraying is part of a comprehensive program of mosquito control and disease prevention. Spraying will be conducted in accordance with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state protocol guidelines. Health risks associated with the use of Sumithrin in this manner are negligible. As with any pesticide, common sense measures are recommended to reduce exposure.

The Department of Health recommends:

• Avoid direct exposure to pesticides;
• Keep all family members and pets inside during spraying;
• Stay inside at least 10 minutes after spraying - longer if you can;
• If exposed, wash yourself off;
• Consider taking additional steps to further reduce exposure during spraying;
• Close windows, shut off air conditioners;
• Bring toys, clothes and small equipment inside;
• Cover outdoor tables and big equipment;
• Close car windows, and turn air to re-circulate mode; and
• Wash any exposed fruits and vegetables, such as those from your garden, before storing, cooking or eating.

Anyone experiencing adverse reactions to pesticides should call their doctor or the Regional Center for Poison Control at 1-800-682-9211. Persons with asthma or other respiratory problems should stay indoors during spraying.