Letters to the Editor: Mailbag: More info from city could take bite out of invasive mosquito activities

I have been a resident of Burbank since 1962. I recently received a very interesting flier in the mail from a local real estate agent that carried an invitation to a meeting about this new, invasive mosquito (Aedes) that is biting residents below the knees.

There has been a lack of communication from Burbank city officials regarding this mosquito issue. I have not seen any publicity on this problem in Burbank’s newsletter. It is a disgrace and a disservice to Burbank residents not to have mosquito abatement news, especially for seniors who may be very susceptible to West Nile virus.

While I liked that Kelly Middleton (director of community affairs for the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District) held the meeting mentioned on the real estate agent’s flier, more needs to be done to ratchet up the seriousness of the mosquito infestation issue and put the mosquito abatement news in the city newsletter. The people who showed up at Ms. Middleton’s meeting may be the only local people who received mosquito abatement news. All Burbank residents need this information.

If the city newsletter can publish dates for a car show or other events, the city should have the decency to publish information on mosquito abatement, an extremely important issue. For seniors who no longer drive to get to meetings, printed information about mosquito abatement will help stem the tide of cases of West Nile virus and other diseases that these new types of mosquitoes could possible transmit.

Jodi Lawson

Burbank