OGDENSBURG, N.Y. (WWTI) – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer visited Ogdensburg to begin a new push to deal with mosquito-borne diseases.
Schumer and other officials visited the City of Ogdensburg too address the pressing issue of illnesses such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile Virus.
Third horse in St. Lawrence County tests positive for EEE
The longtime New York senator is launching a two-pronged push for the feds including calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which works in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure coordination and outline a plan for working with New York State and local communities to survey and track mosquitoes.
The hope is secure $65 million in federal funding through the CDC and EPA to track and zap mosquitoes is a critical step in protecting Upstate residents and visitors from these dangerous diseases.
Schumer is also pushing for a $2 million increase for the CDC’s Vector-Borne Diseases programs, which includes EEEV and WNV.
With five horses testing positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis across the northern part of the county, and now an additional horse that tested positive for West Nile Virus, it is clear that we need to be concerned about the mosquitoes in our area.
St. Lawrence County Public Health Director Erin Streiff
According to a release from Schumer’s office, the NYS Department of Health has confirmed at least 20 human cases of West Nile Virus and 1,868 WNV-positive mosquito pools, including at least three human WNV cases, two horse WNV case, and 226 WNV-positive mosquito pools across Upstate NY. Over the last week, local public health officials have confirmed multiple human cases of West Nile in the upstate area. This includes a Jefferson County man who contracted the county’s first WNV case in more than 15 years and an adult man in Wayne County has been hospitalized with WNV.
The NYS DOH has confirmed the presence of at least 14 cases of EEE in horses across 10 counties, including St. Lawrence, Madison, Oneida, Cayuga, Orange, Ulster, Wayne, Washington, Clinton, and Franklin, as well as at least 19 EEEV-positive mosquito pools.
(Courtesy of City of Ogdensburg)