Surging West Nile Virus Infection Linked to Foreclosure Crisis
Officials and health experts in Nassau County are considering a possible relationship between the increase in West Nile virus infections and the foreclosure crisis.
The probable link between these two has been based on the fact that mosquitoes carry the virus and it would seem that these mosquitoes have been living in the stagnant water found in the swimming pools of abandoned foreclosure homes.
For Entomology Professor David Pimentel of Cornell University, it is very likely that there exists a relationship between the two. Because of this high likelihood, local officials and health experts have been prompted to take action, spraying most of Central Nassau with pesticide. Unfortunately, the said decision to spray pesticide angered advocates of breast cancer as well as environmentalists.
The areas sprayed with pesticide contain the highest percentage of foreclosed homes in Central Nassau. Most of the homes also have swimming pools, which were left untended when the owners left. These pools are considered to be the ideal breeding grounds for the virus-carrying mosquitoes.
Many homeowners have also noticed these abandoned swimming pools and have informed the authorities regarding them. Most of the pools were drained but some were not because the representatives from the county public works were unable to gain entrance to these foreclosed properties.
It would seem that the foreclosure crisis is not only resulting to homeowners losing their homes but also poses certain health risks. The spread of West Nile virus infection is probably just the beginning. Abandoned homes usually attract other pathogen-carrying animals such as rats.
In situations like this, the community is the one paying the price. Not only are these abandoned homes possible breeding grounds of these mosquitoes but they can also be considered as eye sores, causing home values in the neighborhood to decline.
