Queens, which was ground zero for the West Nile virus when it was discovered in the U.S. for the first time 12 years ago, is once again a hotspot for the mosquito-borne disease, according to the New York Daily News.
Five people and 88 mosquito pools in the borough have tested positive for the virus, by far the most in the city.
The city has sprayed more than a half-dozen times in Queens this year to reduce the mosquito population, but some say it's not enough.
"Why haven't they sprayed in Middle Village?" asked Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association. "People are getting eaten alive out here."
Anxiety in the area grew after word spread that a resident may have been ill with encephalitis.
It was unclear whether that individual actually tested positive for West Nile.
City Health Department officials declined to identify neighborhoods where the victims live, citing patient confidentiality.
It's also possible that victims contracted the virus in other areas, officials said.
In August, an 83-year-old man from Queens died after contracting the virus.
Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, said it's not clear why Queens has more cases this year.
"The factors that are most important are population density and the amount of marshland and standing water where these mosquitoes can breed," he said.
Lipkin is an expert who consulted on the new Steven Soderbergh movie "Contagion," a thriller centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease.
"This year we had a lot of precipitation, and this is probably an important factor," Lipkin added.
Though the virus has become part of life here over the past decade, Lipkin said he understands why people are still alarmed.
"Encephalitis is a scary illness, and it kills," he said.
The Health Department said it carefully monitors virus activity and then decides whether to spray pesticides.
"We use data for positive mosquito pools and/or human cases for estimating the risk of disease transmission," the agency said in a statement.
But even if someone contracts the virus, it doesn't guarantee spraying in that area.
"People should be alerted," Holden said, adding that maps and charts of spraying on the agency's website are not detailed enough.
"We are not getting any information and we want to know why."
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