Aug 29, 2007 2:37 pm US/Pacific
Crews Work To Stop Spread Of West Nile Virus
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
County crews began removing vegetation Wednesday from the Bell Creek debris basin in West Hills in an effort to eliminate pools where mosquitoes can breed and spread the West Nile virus.
Unclogging Bell Creek, a tributary of the Los Angeles River, is just the latest effort to eliminate mosquito-friendly places across the San Fernando Valley.
On Monday, crews finished digging a channel in the Limekiln debris basin in Chatsworth, and other crews started clearing the "Woodley Drain" in Van Nuys last week.
In Panorama City, crews were filling parts of the bed of the Pacoima Wash to level it and improve water flow. An operation to clear excessive growth wrapped up Aug. 18.
The Pacoima Wash, which runs out of Limekiln Canyon, was the source of 17 of 19 West Nile samples collected this month, county public health officials said.
Four human cases of the virus have been confirmed in Los Angeles County this year.
The virus is spread to humans from infected mosquitoes. The blood-sipping parasites get infected by feeding on diseased birds. So far, no evidence has shown that the virus can spread by person-to-person contact.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
