Senate Approves New West Nile Virus Protection Bill

The Massachusetts Senate has approved a bill that aims to strengthen the ability for local public works employees to combat the West Nile Virus throughout the state.

Sponsored by State Sen. Jason Lewis (D-Winchester), Bill H.757, “An Act relative to pesticide licensing and mosquito control,” would provide municipal public works’ authority to drop non-toxic pesticide pellets into storm drains and catch basins in the hopes of eliminating breeding grounds for Culex mosquitoes, which are known to carry WNV, Lewis’s office announced.

Public works employees were previously authorized to use such pesticides from 2001 to 2009, but the state Department of Agricultural Resources opted to not renew the authorization, according to the announcement.

“It is critically important that our communities have the tools needed to proactively combat the spread of serious diseases like West Nile Virus,” Lewis said in a statement. “My legislation will simply return to municipal officials the authority to use the tools at their disposal to safeguard the public health for residents of our cities and towns.”

The legislation previously passed the House and now heads to the desk of Gov. Deval Patrick.

“The passage of this legislation is very important for public health in that local government will be allowed to directly provide critical protection measures to control mosquitoes that carry West Nile Virus,” Jennifer Murphy, Director of the Winchester Health Department, said in a statement. “This prevention service will be provided in a timely, cost-effective and safe manner, and is a critical step in protecting health by reducing the risk of these mosquito-borne diseases.”