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Backlash against mosquito spraying to prevent Zika

Four times in the past several weeks San Diego County has taken action to prevent the Zika virus from spreading by spraying for mosquitos - it's an effort that has not come without resistance.
Backlash against mosquito spraying to prevent Zika

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - Four times in the past several weeks San Diego County has taken action to prevent the Zika virus from spreading by spraying for mosquitos - it's an effort that has not come without resistance.

A neighborhood discussion in South Park Tuesday night was heated when residents raised their concerns about the recent spraying of an EPA approved pesticide Pyrenone 25-5 to kill mosquitos capable of spreading the Zika virus.

Four people have tested positive for Zika in different San Diego neighborhoods, but so far, no infected Aedes mosquitoes have been found in the San Diego region or elsewhere in California, according to county health officials.

All of the local cases of Zika resulted from travel to areas where the disease is prevalent.

Pesticide was sprayed in South Park last month, and last week in Mount Hope and Normal Heights. Recently, in Grant Hill residents were furious they were only given a 24-hour notice.

Residents expressed concerns about killing organic gardens.

Families left Tuesday meeting in South Park frustrated with no resolution to their protest against spraying against Zika.

"I can appreciate the health department's concerns - I just think they went about it the wrong way," said a resident.

The pesticide used by the county, Pyrenone 25-5, is derived from chrysanthemums and is not the same insecticide that killed millions of honeybees last week after aerial sprayings in Florida and in South Carolina.

Another meeting is scheduled outside the Big Kitchen restaurant in two weeks at 6:30 p.m.

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