A Human-Health Risk Assessment for West Nile Virus and Insecticides Used in Mosquito Management

West Nile virus (WNV) has been a major public health concern in North America since 1999, when the first outbreak in the Western Hemisphere occurred in New York City. As a result of this ongoing disease outbreak, management of mosquitoes that vector WNV throughout the United States and Canada has ne...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental health perspectives 2006-03, Vol.114 (3), p.366-372
Main Authors: Robert K. D. Peterson, Macedo, Paula A., Davis, Ryan S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adults
Americas
Chemical hazards
Child
Child, Preschool
Copyrights
Criteria
Culicidae
Disease control
Environmental agencies
Environmental Exposure - adverse effects
Environmental Pollutants - analysis
Environmental Pollutants - toxicity
Epidemics
Exposure
Female
Health
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infections
Ingestion
Insecticides
Insecticides - analysis
Insecticides - toxicity
Male
Management
Mathematical analysis
Models, Theoretical
Mosquito Control
Mosquitoes
Mosquitos
Outbreaks
Pesticide Synergists - analysis
Pesticide Synergists - toxicity
Pesticides
Piperonyl Butoxide - analysis
Piperonyl Butoxide - toxicity
Public health
Quotients
Residential
Risk
Risk analysis
Risk Assessment
Subgroups
Vectors (mathematics)
West Nile fever
West Nile Fever - prevention & control
West Nile virus
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Summary:West Nile virus (WNV) has been a major public health concern in North America since 1999, when the first outbreak in the Western Hemisphere occurred in New York City. As a result of this ongoing disease outbreak, management of mosquitoes that vector WNV throughout the United States and Canada has necessitated using insecticides in areas where they traditionally have not been used or have been used less frequently. This has resulted in concerns by the public about the risks from insecticide use. The objective of this study was to use reasonable worst-case risk assessment methodologies to evaluate human-health risks for WNV and the insecticides most commonly used to control adult mosquitoes. We evaluated documented health effects from WNV infection and determined potential population risks based on reported frequencies. We determined potential acute (1-day) and subchronic (90-day) multiroute residential exposures from each insecticide for several human subgroups during a WNV disease outbreak scenario. We then compared potential insecticide exposures to toxicologic and regulatory effect levels. Risk quotients (RQs, the ratio of exposure to toxicologic effect) were < 1.0 for all subgroups. Acute RQs ranged from 0.0004 to 0.4726, and subchronic RQs ranged from 0.00014 to 0.2074. Results from our risk assessment and the current weight of scientific evidence indicate that human-health risks from residential exposure to mosquito insecticides are low and are not likely to exceed levels of concern. Further, our results indicate that, based on human-health criteria, the risks from WNV exceed the risks from exposure to mosquito insecticides.
ISSN:0091-6765
1552-9924
DOI:10.1289/ehp.8667