West Nile Worries Move Santa Clara Health Officials To Begin Aerial Search For Mosquito-Breeding Pools

In Santa Clara County, California, The San Jose Mercury News reports:

• Here's the latest fallout from the ever-widening housing crisis: West Nile virus. Worried that foreclosed homes will result in neglected swimming pools, health officials will embark Tuesday on an aerial search for back yard, watery havens for mosquitoes that potentially carry the deadly virus. A survey plane, equipped with a digital camera and a Global Positioning System, will fly at an altitude of 5,000 feet over parts of San Jose, Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, Monte Sereno and Saratoga.

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• "It's an unfortunate predicament that people are in," said Tim Mulligan, manager of Santa Clara County's Vector Control District, referring to the impact of foreclosures on the maintenance of swimming pools. "One of the first things to go bye-bye for a resident in foreclosure is pool maintenance," he said. "It's a drain on their resources."

For more, see Health officials searching for mosquito-breeding backyard pools. neighborhood destruction from foreclosures zach