- WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Stepping
beyond its traditional role to fight forest fires this summer, the U.S.
military now has been asked to help battle mosquitoes carrying the West
Nile virus in Louisiana.
Air Force Secretary James G. Roche received a letter Monday from U.S. Sens.
Mary Landrieu and John Breaux, both Democrats from Louisiana, seeking aid,
according to Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Audrey Bahler.
The letter sought the use of Air Force C-130 planes fitted with pesticide
sprayers to enhance state efforts to control the mosquito population. Before
the Air Force can mobilize the unit, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and Federal Emergency Management Agency would have to approve
the spraying request.
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- The Air Force Reserve's 910th Airlift Wing, based in
Youngstown, Ohio, would be assigned the mission of spraying large tracts
of the state with pesticides to kill mosquitoes blamed for spreading the
West Nile virus, which has caused seven deaths.
The 910th has four aircraft capable of spraying, but the Air Force has
not commented on how many planes would be deployed to Louisiana.
Air Force officials will develop a cost estimate and compare a military
deployment with prices from civilian contractors who could do the job.
Several C-130s, which are large, four-engine propeller aircraft, have been
fitted with pesticide sprayers to mitigate bugs around military bases and
other Defense Department properties, Bahler said.
The planes also are used to spray civilian areas suffering heavy mosquito
infestations in the aftermath of hurricanes and flooding, which can create
large bodies of standing water that are breeding grounds for insects, Bahler
said.
There is no timetable on when the aircraft might begin the aerial assault,
but Air Force officials said they expect it would happen by the end of
this week.
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