Fourteen counties will be conducting aerial sprays this weekend to kill mosquitos and reduce the risk of Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or Triple E.
According to officials with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, there have been nine cases of Triple E, three of which have been fatal.
In addition, 27 animals have been diagnosed with the disease. All of those cases were fatal.
Lynn Sutfin is with the department. She said it’s expected to be warm enough for mosquitoes to remain a nuisance for the next few weeks, so the department determined it was worthwhile to conduct spraying.
“It’s a very fine aerosol drop,” she said. “It stays suspended in the air and the intent is it will kill adult mosquitoes on contact.”
Sutfin said the spraying will be conducted Sunday evening, starting at 8PM.
“This is to make sure we’re not affecting anything like honey bees or butterflies,” she said. “Because honeybees are in their hives in the evening and butterflies are undercover. That’s the reason they do this in the evening.”
Impacted counties included Kent, Lapeer, Montcalm, and Newaygo.
Sutfin said residents do not need to be concerned about coming into contact with the spray.
You can find the most up to date information about the spraying here:
https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_77442---,00.html