DENNISVILLE – Dennis Township Committee’s April 19 meeting included an extensive briefing on mosquito control by Dr. Peter Bosak that formed most of the agenda.
Bosak is director of the county Department of Mosquito Control. Its headquarters on Route 47 in Dias Creek has the only related analytical lab in the state. He was invited to make a presentation in light of the growing concern about Zika virus.
“We have 45 mosquito species in Cape May County and we believe the Zika virus is related to two of them. The Zika virus was first observed in Uganda in the Zika forest there, hence its name, in 1947. It is absolutely stunning how quickly it is now spreading having first gotten a strong foothold in Yap, and then rapidly moved on through international travel of people on trawlers or by plane to French Polynesia 2013-2014, Brazil in 2015 and now all the way up to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and a major portion of the southern tier of the U.S.,” began Bosak.
According to Bosak, Center for Disease Control maps showing the spread of the Zika virus are changing almost week to week, and a couple of the versions of the map have the virus as far north as Maine.
“However, we know this mosquito cannot survive the cold winters there or even in New Jersey where some maps show that it has been found,” continued Bosak. “The overriding concern is the microcephaly now believed caused by the Zika virus in newborn infants.”
Bosak explained in detail the life cycle of mosquitoes and how residents can eliminate the risk of breeding around residences or other locations.
“Standing water such as in small buckets, collected in children’s toys left outside, stored tires, or even saucers under planters are favorite places for mosquitoes to lay their eggs. Another site for mosquito breeding are ‘delinquent pools,’ i.e. pools that are not being kept up and maintained and we have hundreds in the county.
“Even the tarps that cover pools can breed hundreds of mosquitoes in less than a cup of water. The mosquitoes bearing the Zika virus especially like small containers or even water collected in the rim of a covered container. Free flowing water, including in marshes, will not provide a suitable habitat for mosquitoes to breed,” Bosak said.
Bosak noted that “we really have nothing to worry about here in Cape May County. However, if there is any concern just call our department, which by the way, is celebrating its 100th anniversary of existence this year, and we will always send out an inspector to determine what the problem is and how to solve it.”
Bike Path Update
Committee member Lisa Salimbene reported that there is “pretty exciting” movement on plans to establish regional connectivity for the long-awaited expansion of the county’s bike path.
“Dennis along with Woodbine are top priorities and we will continue to work with county and state officials to make sure that the County map moves forward to benefit Dennis,” said Salimbene.
Re-bid of Speed Hump
On its consent agenda, committee approved a motion to authorize the municipal engineer to require new proposals for speed humps on Paper Mill and Lehner Roads in Eldora. The re-bid motion is related to the fact that the initial proposals exceeded budget constraints.
The re-bid offer per John Gibson, Dennis Township engineer, will be limited to the project on Paper Mill Road.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.
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