Now, plans call for spraying of pesticides starting this weekend in South Utica, Whitestown and New Hartford. It's inevitable the virus will be found elsewhere in the Mohawk Valley, either later this summer or in coming years, and that more spraying will be advocated. As we've stated before, it's crucial that the region avoid panicking. The McCarthy era demonstrated how virulent anti-communism could be more damaging to American society than the threat of communism. Similarly, a disease that hasn't killed a single person this year shouldn't create a mass response of irrational thinking and actions.
Life is full of risks, and West Nile now has become one.
What's paramount now is that Mohawk Valley residents be made part of Oneida and Herkimer counties' response to the situation. Public health officials are doing their best to respond to a potential health crisis that no one had even heard of a little over a year ago. Because the situation is so new, however, decisions are being made at times with quite limited information. Oneida County officials, as did officials downstate, have taken the position that extensive pesticide application is needed. The birds that have been infected likely were bitten by mosquitoes carrying the virus.