The civil grand jury is criticizing San Benito County for
doing
”
too little, too late,
”
to fight West Nile Virus and states the county now will have to
react to any potential cases of the virus instead of preventing
them with
”
care and forethought.
”
Hollister – The civil grand jury is criticizing San Benito County for doing “too little, too late,” to fight West Nile Virus and states the county now will have to react to any potential cases of the virus instead of preventing them with “care and forethought.”
But county officials disagree with the jury’s findings, released in a recent report, and say they’re making as much headway as they can considering the county’s financial woes.
One of the jury’s biggest gripes with the county was that no single agency took the lead in addressing the problem. However, Agricultural Commissioner Paul Matulich said the agricultural department has taken responsibility as the head agency and will turn in an application for a $200,000 state grant today.
The grant, which is part of $12 million Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stuck in the budget specifically to fund mosquito abatement programs in California counties, will cover personnel, larvacide pellets, and other abatement-related equipment, Matulich said.
Matulich said he should hear back from the state within a week to 10 days regarding how much money San Benito could receive.
“I’m sure we’ll get something, and if we get everything it will be beautiful,” he said. “As far as the grand jury report, they didn’t paint us in a great picture. We’re trying to put this thing together but you can’t do anything before you sign an agreement with the state, and we can’t do that until we have a budget in place.”
The grand jury also criticized the Board of Supervisors for providing little direction for its county departments, but Supervisor Anthony Botelho said the board has allocated $80,000 for mosquito abatement in its proposed 2005-2006 budget.
“I completely disagree with (the grand jury’s) conclusion. I feel the board has been very supportive,” Botelho said. “The county is moving forward with its program. This year, yeah, it’s a minimal program, but next year will be better.”
Although Matulich conceded the jury report had ominous undertones, stating that if nothing is done San Benito County could be too late in “providing its citizens with the means to combat this potentially deadly problem,” because “even one human death as a result of West Nile disease will be too many,” Matulich said he understood why jurors came down so hard.
“It’s a public health issue and you need to get things going,” he said. “It’s the county’s responsibility to protect the public’s health.”
Although counties surrounding San Benito have had some reports of dead birds which tested positive for the virus, Public Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Falade said no birds have tested positive yet this year.
First discovered in the United States in New York in 1999, West Nile Virus has quickly spread to 44 states and was detected in California in 2002. The mosquito-borne disease can infect both humans and animals, such as birds and horses. About 80 percent of people infected with the virus won’t have any symptoms, however severe symptoms in about one in every 150 infected humans can include convulsions, coma, vision loss and paralysis. Milder symptoms in up to 20 percent of infected humans can include fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, according to the state’s West Nile Virus Web site.
In 2002, mosquitoes were discovered carrying the disease in southern California, causing some locals to worry the virus would make its way up-state. While San Benito County got away with only a few dead birds and no human infections last year, officials at the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California have predicted the virus will be centered in Northern California and the Central Valley this year.
San Benito’s West Nile Virus task force, which is made up of health and governmental officials, has been collaborating on ways to educate residents and prevent mosquito infestation within the county for more than a year. Although grand jury members suggested the task force was no nearer to a solution now than when it started, Falade said that’s just not so.
The Public Works Department has a program in place to drop larvacide pellets in the storm drains of 31 county service areas, and the public health department has been consistently sending out flyers in an attempt to educate the public on how to prevent an infestation of mosquitos and the possibility of one of those mosquitos carrying the virus.
“I feel the Health and Human Services Department did quite a bit over the last few years and we’re doing it with our existing resources to combat it within our county,” Falade said. “I’m not sure exactly what they’re getting at.”
While the grand jury report stated it could cost upwards of $1 million to officially form and implement a county-wide mosquito abatement program, Botelho said he believes at this time it’s not realistic and a full-fledged program isn’t needed.
“What’s realistic is the proposed $80,000 in the budget. That’s the extent our county can do, as well as many other counties in the state,” he said. “If we do find a high instance of West Nile in an area, we’ll deal with it as it becomes apparent, but right now we don’t have that circumstance. But more importantly, people need to take care of their own properties and do what they can. Because the problem is not going to go away.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
