West Nile virus has been detected in adult mosquitoes in Palm Springs and officials will launch a three-day ``fogging'' attack on the insects starting Sunday, authorities announced today.

An ``adulticide'' fogging substance to kill the mosquitoes, aqua-reslin,
will be sprayed from a truck around the Palm Springs sewer treatment facility
for one hour each day in the early morning and should pose little or no risk to
humans or animals, said Felice Chiapperini of the Coachella Valley Mosquito &
Vector Control District.

``This minimizes exposure and risk to people, pets and the
environment,'' he said.

Fogging will take place between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Sunday, Monday and
Tuesday near the mosquito sewer treatment facility on Vella Road from east
Sunny Dunes Road south to the plant; Mesquite Avenue from Gene Autry Trail west
to El Cielo Road and to the Demuth Park area, Chiapperini said.

``Intensive, larval mosquito control to suppress adult abundance to
protect public health is ongoing,'' said Jim Saulnier, operations manager with
CVMVCD.

Even though West Nile has been detected in the mosquitoes, there are no
positive tests for West Nile virus in chickens or humans in the area,
Chiapperini said.

Meantime, a ``barrier treatment'' of the water treatment facility has been performed, which will provide three weeks of control for adult mosquitoes that land on treated water surfaces, he said.

Most people who are bitten by mosquitoes with West Nile virus will not get sick, Chiapperini said.

However, as many as 20 percent of people infected with the virus are expected to contract West Nile fever that causes victims to experience mild to severe flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache, body ache and even possible paralysis. Fewer than one percent of people with the virus require hospitalization, he said.

For more information, call the CVMVCD at (760) 342-8287 or go to the Web
site www.CVMVCD.org.