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New Law Will Give Health Officials Tool To Fight West Nile

Andre.abu
/
flickr

Governor Perry has signed Senate Bill 186, giving health officials another tool to fight West Nile.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Helen Giddings and Sen. John Carona, both of Dallas, gives authorities access to stagnant water on abandoned properties and swimming pools.  

Dallas County health officials say that last year they had numerous complaints about standing water on uninhabited properties that was breeding mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes carry the West Nile virus that can be fatal or cause severe neurological damage.

The new legislation gives  local officials the authority to treat the standing water on abandoned residential properties with larvicide and to access a property if they believe  water could present a  health danger.

Former KERA staffer Shelley Kofler was news director, managing editor and senior reporter. She is an award-winning reporter and television producer who previously served as the Austin bureau chief and legislative reporter for North Texas ABC affiliate WFAA-TV.