The city of Richardson has asked to join Dallas County's aerial mosquito control program.
Mayor Bob Townsend made the request after health officials identified the area to be under an immediate public health threat.
Nearly half of all Texas West Nile cases are in Dallas County -- and those same cases represent nearly one quarter of all cases in the United States. North Dallas, which includes part of Richardson, holds 76 percent of the cases in the county, the city said in a news release Wednesday.
“The evidence is very compelling that it is time to expand on mosquito control efforts in our region,” said Richardson Mayor Bob Townsend. “Health leaders from government agencies at the federal, state and local level, and third party medical groups all support expanded action to limit the risks to people from contracting this potentially deadly disease.”
Officials have not yet said when aerial spraying will begin. When it does, specially-outfitted prop planes will dispense up to 1 ounce of Duet pesticide per acre from about 300 feet above ground.
The spraying will be done by Clarke.
