Rancho Penasquitos

Two cases of malaria discovered in migrant workers in the Rancho Penasquitos area have prompted county health officials to begin spraying for mosquitoes in the area where the victims lived and worked.

Spraying will begin tonight in the Penasquitos neighborhood southwest of Rancho Penasquitos Boulevard and northwest of Calle de las Rosas, and continue Sunday and Monday nights.

The two malaria victims “slept and worked outside,” so they may have been bitten by mosquitoes carrying the disease, a health bulletin released late Friday said. However, the two may have been infected outside the country, the bulletin stated.

Traps set in the Penasquitos residential area have yielded the type of mosquito capable of carrying the disease and transmitting it to humans.

Fogging will be done between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. in an area including these streets: La Tortola, Via del Valendor, Las Conicas, Swath Court, Swath Place and Pine Manor Court. The canyon areas north of Swath Court and southwest of Rancho Penasquitos Boulevard also will be sprayed.

Standing water in the neighborhood already has been treated with larvicide to control the mosquitoes.

Handbills giving information about the spraying and precautions to be taken will be distributed to residents of the area before the spraying begins, said Larry Aker, assistant deputy director of the county environmental health services.

He added that Penasquitos residents should try to avoid mosquito bites by wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants and mosquito repellent during in the evening, when the insects are most active.