Columbia issues West Nile alert

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The city of Columbia will begin taking preventive measures today in two neighborhoods where two dead birds tested positive for the West Nile virus.

The affected areas include the neighborhoods of Barhamville Estates, Booker Washington Heights, Celia Saxon, Colonial Heights, Edgewood, Jaggers Plaza and the Jones McDonald Community Club, as well as parts of the central Rosewood, South Kilbourne and Edisto Court neighborhoods.

The city issued an alert today.

Tommy Crosby, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control director of media relations, said an alert is issued when West Nile virus is found in tested mosquitoes, animals or humans.

“Once found, we reach out to the municipality so they can take precautions,” Crosby said. “We notified officials in Columbia and they announced the planned spraying. We don’t want anyone to be caught off-guard.”

City personnel will apply larvicide to limit new mosquito hatchings and set mosquito surveillance traps in the affected areas today. The city will also continue efforts to reduce breeding sites in the area, according to a news release.

Spraying for adult mosquitoes will begin tomorrow and end Thursday. Spraying usually takes places between midnight and dawn, though conditions may warrant earlier spraying.

Residents allergic to permethrin or tau-fluvalinate are asked to notify vector control staff by calling city code enforcement at 803-545-4229. Beekeepers should call code enforcement to notify staff of their hives.