AUSTIN, Texas – Federal, state and local agencies are working together to institute an aggressive plan to control the mosquito population in Texas after Hurricane Harvey, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday.
Abbott said that officials are working to prioritize areas for mosquito spraying and that local agencies have already started. He said state spraying is expected to begin this week.
“The Department of Defense will help with wide-area spraying,” Abbott said.
Abbott said that getting ahead of the problem immediately after the storm will hopefully curtail what he described as a “meaningful mosquito outbreak.”
“I think if we can do an aggressive job of containing this over the first 30 days after the storm, we will be able to get it under control,” he said.
Abbott said 100 percent of funding for spraying is covered by the federal government in the first month after a storm.
Residents who are returning to flood-ravaged areas should be wary of bacterial infections and tetanus, Abbott said. He said people should ensure scratches and scrapes are treated and bandaged and that they are current on their tetanus vaccine.
Abbott also said that officials are still surveying state and federal disposal sites, but no issues have been noted thus far.
