LIVINGSTON — The Louisiana Department of Health has confirmed the state’s first human case of West Nile virus for the 2025 mosquito season.
The case involves a person from Livingston Parish, who was hospitalized due to complications from the infection. To protect the patient’s privacy, LDH is not releasing any additional details about the individual or their location.
Unlike neighboring parishes such as West Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge, and Tangipahoa, which have dedicated mosquito abatement districts that spray for mosquitoes and target breeding sites, Livingston Parish does not have such a program despite multiple attempts by local government to create one.
In 2019, voters in Livingston Parish rejected a proposal to establish a mosquito abatement district, with 67% opposing the measure. The proposal would have added a $3 monthly fee to parish water bills.
Brandon Browning, the deputy chief administrative officer with the Livingston Parish President’s Office, told UWK that while that proposal failed, the parish is actively working to reduce the mosquito population.
Browning said the most effective strategy to date has been dredging ditches throughout the parish to eliminate standing water, a primary breeding ground for mosquitoes.
“I talked with our environmental director, John Coward, who advised me that he’s seen a tremendous improvement in the mosquitoes since we’ve taken office, because we’ve been really aggressive with our ditching and getting our drainage on point. We’ve targeted areas that have ditches that hadn’t been draining properly,” Browning said.
Livingston Parish Mosquito Abatement District Unlikely
Although officials are concerned that the state’s first West Nile case was found in Livingston Parish, Browning doesn’t anticipate a renewed effort to establish a mosquito abatement district.
“There’s always going to be a concern, but it just seems like the temperament from constituents in Livingston Parish, it’s extremely difficult to pass any tax to add a service. You look at the history of the last couple of elections and you’ll see that,” Browning explained.
In addition to ditch-clearing efforts, the parish has hosted several free tire drop-off days to reduce potential mosquito breeding sites and recently launched a litter abatement division to clean areas prone to standing water.
Browning noted that the current administration has been in office for only about a year and a half and had no involvement in the 2019 mosquito abatement vote.
Councilmember John Wascom, the only remaining member from the 2019 Livingston Parish Council, opposed the abatement district then, and still does. He believes it’s no coincidence he’s the only one still serving.
“The other ones that fought to create the district and implement a mosquito taxing abatement program is probably why they’re not (on the council) anymore,” Wascom said.
He believes the ditching campaign initiated by Parish President Randy Delatte’s administration have been effective. Wascom himself proposed reallocating leftover mosquito abatement funds to launch the drainage program.
“A major component of mosquito abatement is cleaning ditches, educating people, keeping waterways open by removing debris, and tires and stuff from the drainage canals so water can move. The standing water is the major component of mosquito breeding,” Wascom explained.
Ultimately, Wascom believes opposition to new taxes is what doomed the 2019 proposal.
“I think the majority of Livingston Parish feels it’s ineffective. They’re tired of being taxed for stuff that just doesn’t benefit them. And then the fact that it’s harmful to honeybees and other problems associated with it. I think the majority of the parish is glad we don’t (spray for mosquitoes),” Wascom said.
A Different Approach
In Denham Springs, located within Livingston Parish, the city does spray for mosquitoes, even though it doesn’t have a dedicated or separately funded mosquito abatement district.
Mayor Gerard Landry began spraying for mosquitoes shortly after taking office in 2014. He was personally motivated after losing a close friend to West Nile virus in 2013 and began researching mosquito control efforts before even taking office.
Landry said the city received leftover spraying equipment from the parish when it disbanded its program. Instead of hiring new staff, he had members of the city’s natural gas department certified to operate the equipment. He also shifted work hours during the summer to avoid overtime costs.
Denham Springs plans to conduct its first mosquito spray of the season this coming Monday.
“You have to wait until the time is right. You can’t have any windy days. You can’t spray on rainy days. You can’t spray before sundown because of the bees and butterflies. You also have to identify the kind of mosquitoes you’re spraying for,” Landry explained.
He believes that mosquito abatement programs are essential in Southeast Louisiana, regardless of funding.
“It’s kind of a no brainer. Think about it. Whether or not a municipality can afford it is another story,” Landry said. “If you really want to do it, you can make it happen.”
Denham Springs is just seven square miles, compared to Livingston Parish’s roughly 650 square miles. Landry acknowledges there’s a vast difference in the scale of mosquito control efforts.
“I’m just seven and a half miles of paradise. My stuff is easy to do. If you have to cover the whole parish of 130 odd thousand people and how many square miles? I mean that’s a big deal,” Landry said.
Still, Landry questions the effectiveness of his city’s spraying efforts when surrounded by a largely untreated parish.
“If I lay in bed and think about this at night, am I doing any good spraying in my seven and a half square miles? We knock the mosquitoes down here, but the wind blows and the chemicals are gone and all the mosquitoes are waiting outside (the town) to come back in,” Landry said. “It’s kind of a crazy thing to think about, but if you don’t do anything then nothing ever happens. You’ve got to start somewhere.
Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.
Support UWK and its mission to deliver The News You Deserve. Unfiltered. Become a monthly patron on Patreon today!
