The Indiana State Dept. of Health has announced that aerial mosquito spraying is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday after a human case of EEE (Eastern Equine Encephalitis) has been diagnosed in an individual in LaPorte County. Cases among horses have been reported in LaGrange, LaPorte and Kosciusko counties.
(You can read more below from the ISDH release on the aerial spraying plans.)
Mosquitoes that carry EEE virus have a flight range of up to five miles. As a result, the affected area includes approximately 375,000 acres in portions of Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, LaPorte, Marshall and Noble counties.
Mosquito control professionals will apply an approved pesticide, Dibrom, as an ultra-low volume (ULV) spray. ULV sprayers dispense very fine aerosol droplets that stay suspended in the air and kill adult mosquitoes on contact. Dibrom has been registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since 1959 for use in the United States.
People who wish to minimize exposure may choose to stay indoors for several hours, beginning at dusk on the treatment dates. People may also choose to bring animals indoors and cover their ornamental fishponds prior to the spraying. Evening application of Dibrom is not expected to be harmful to bees, but beekeepers may choose to cover their hives overnight and prevent bees from exiting during the application as a precaution.
In 2019, northern Indiana experienced a significant outbreak of EEE virus activity, resulting in 14 horse cases, one fatal human case and one positive mosquito sample. The Indiana Department of Health also conducted spraying during the 2019 outbreak.
The following maps released by ISDH show where the spraying will occur.
