Speaker 1: It's Night Side with Dan Ray w BZ Constance New Radio.
Speaker 2: All right, welcome back everybody, as we talk about something
Speaker 2: that should be of concern to everyone, uh and that
Speaker 2: is what's going on here, not only in Massachusetts, but
Speaker 2: throughout New England. We've had an annual outbreak of a
Speaker 2: couple of mosquito borne illnesses west now virus and also
Speaker 2: Eastern equine encephalitis also known as tripoli. Delighted to be
Speaker 2: joined this hour by doctor Catherine Brown, who is with
Speaker 2: the Colnwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and she
Speaker 2: is a veterinarian and UH an epidemiologist. And I believe
Speaker 2: doctor Brown, that you have spent some of to night
Speaker 2: don at Plymouth where some prophylactic spraying has been going
Speaker 2: on to try to get rid of some of these
Speaker 2: mosquitoes that are potentially or infected. Good evening, Thanks for
Speaker 2: joining us.
Speaker 3: Yeah, good evening, and thanks so much for the invitation. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I've spent some time down here in Plymouth this evening
Speaker 3: hanging out with some of the other folks from the
Speaker 3: Commonwealth of Massachusetts who are working on making sure that
Speaker 3: we are conducting some aerial spraying to help reduce the
Speaker 3: risk from triple E here in the state.
Speaker 2: So how are these diseases related and how are they different?
Speaker 2: I mean, they're both mosquito born diseases. It seems to
Speaker 2: me that we never get a break around this time
Speaker 2: of year. Late August early September there's an outbreak. We
Speaker 2: lost a gentleman by the name of I guess Stephen
Speaker 2: Perry from Hampstead, New I'm sure sixty years of age
Speaker 2: passed away from triple E. And yet there's also additional
Speaker 2: cases tonight I understand from the Massachuset Department of Public
Speaker 2: Health of West now virus to additional human cases which
Speaker 2: bring the number of total cases to four. Both of
Speaker 2: them are men in their sixties, one exposed in Suffolk County,
Speaker 2: also another in Norfolk County. This sadly is something we
Speaker 2: deal with on an annual basis. What's the cause and
Speaker 2: there is this something that we're going to deal with
Speaker 2: forever because it's just something that is within our region,
Speaker 2: never to be eradicated.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Still, I mean, I appreciate you sort of making this
Speaker 3: personal and reminding us about the really the human costs
Speaker 3: that can come with these infections. And you're right also
Speaker 3: that we just can't seem to catch a break. So
Speaker 3: this is the peak time in the New England area
Speaker 3: for transmission of both of these mosquito born diseases to people.
Speaker 3: So the similarities are that these are both viruses that
Speaker 3: are originally carried in birds, different kinds of birds, but
Speaker 3: they're both bird viruses, and then they are spread between
Speaker 3: birds by mosquitoes and then also can be transmitted you know,
Speaker 3: from birds to humans by mosquitoes as well. So I
Speaker 3: think one of the differences is that West Nile virus
Speaker 3: is still relatively new to the US, right It was
Speaker 3: introduced in about nineteen ninety nine, and we've been dealing
Speaker 3: with it since then, and that really does seem to
Speaker 3: be an annual reality. We see cases in Massachusetts and
Speaker 3: throughout the country every single year. Tripoli is a little
Speaker 3: bit different, so it doesn't occur everywhere in the United States.
Speaker 3: Massachusetts that's unfortunately a little bit special when it comes
Speaker 3: to Tripoli. We have a long history with this virus,
Speaker 3: and what happens is that we'll see outbreak cycles, so
Speaker 3: you know, a couple of years in a row where
Speaker 3: we'll see pretty significant activity and then it will cool
Speaker 3: off and kind of go away for a few years
Speaker 3: and then it comes comes roaring back. And so this
Speaker 3: is one of our we think outbreak years. And unfortunately
Speaker 3: it's also now hitting other states, not just Massachusetts.
Speaker 2: So birds are involved in this. All of us have
Speaker 2: heard of the avian flu and some of the bird
Speaker 2: born viruses. Is that what makes it so dangerous to humans?
Speaker 2: I mean all of us have at times been bitten
Speaker 2: by a mosquito. It's aggravating, it's inconvenient, and it can
Speaker 2: be uncomfortable, but it's not life threatening. Is it the
Speaker 2: introduction of whatever the mosquitoes extract from the birds, from
Speaker 2: these sick birds, that that actually causes such serious consequences.
Speaker 3: Well, so, I mean, while the birds may serve as
Speaker 3: a reservoir for the virus, it's actually it's there are
Speaker 3: it's actually intrinsic to the virus. How it causes injury
Speaker 3: to people. Right, So, once the virus gets either of
Speaker 3: these viruses get injected into us by a mosquito bite.
Speaker 3: These viruses have a particular predilection for the nervous tissue
Speaker 3: in humans, particularly the central nervous system, so like the
Speaker 3: brain and the spinal cord. And the fact that those
Speaker 3: viruses kind of attack those types of tissues in our
Speaker 3: body is what can make these diseases so serious. So
Speaker 3: it's not really the fact that the bird carries them.
Speaker 3: It's something that's intrinsic to the virus itself, the viruses themselves.
Speaker 2: I'm not a doctor, nor will I play one on radio,
Speaker 2: but this almost sounds to me like some a virus
Speaker 2: that is fairly close similar to meningitis. Am I far
Speaker 2: off on that? Doctor?
Speaker 3: Yeah, So meningitis, believe it or not, is actually a
Speaker 3: description of a symptom, right. It's inflammation of a part
Speaker 3: of the brain, and that is something that these viruses
Speaker 3: can cause. They can cause inflammation of the tissue that
Speaker 3: surrounds the brain, which is meningitis, or they can actually
Speaker 3: cause inflammation of the brain itself, and that's encephalitis, and
Speaker 3: that's where that name Eastern equine encephalitis comes from.
Speaker 2: And there's also spinal mingitis meningitis. I believe That's why
Speaker 2: I'm just sort of asking you, because everyone understands that
Speaker 2: is a serious, uh serious disease. So look, I know
Speaker 2: that the precautions that can be taken, uh should be
Speaker 2: taken by everyone, which is obviously you know them better
Speaker 2: than me. But it's staying indoors when possible, particularly from
Speaker 2: dawn to dusk and uh and and wearing clothes that
Speaker 2: do really cover up and and don't you know, avoid
Speaker 2: being out. A lot of towns have I guess closed
Speaker 2: some outdoor sports activities and there's some controversy about that.
Speaker 2: Uh is the spring safe? I know that there's always
Speaker 2: people who are concerned about any sort of aerial or
Speaker 2: ground spring in their neighborhood. Are we pretty sure that
Speaker 2: the the solution is not worth worse than the problem?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 3: You know, I want to make sure that people understand
Speaker 3: that there's really a layered prevention strategy here, right, and
Speaker 3: so the spraying that opening, you know, starting tonight is
Speaker 3: really kind of almost the last tool in the toolbox. Right.
Speaker 3: So the first thing that I want people to know
Speaker 3: is that at this time of year in Massachusetts, you
Speaker 3: should always be wearing mosquito repellent anytime you're outdoors, right,
Speaker 3: Just just make it a habitat, a habitat, make it
Speaker 3: a habit and then then you can also use, as
Speaker 3: you said, lung sleaves, long pants to reduce exposed skin.
Speaker 3: You know, this recommendation about avoiding outer activity between dusk
Speaker 3: and dawn is really we reserve that primarily for the
Speaker 3: parts of the state where Tripoli is at very high risk.
Speaker 3: We're not making a blanket recommendation about that. It's really
Speaker 3: where Tripoli is.
Speaker 4: The risk is the greatest.
Speaker 3: And then so people should do that no matter what
Speaker 3: else is happening. And then because we have seen that,
Speaker 3: you know, despite everybody's best efforts, that we're still continuing
Speaker 3: to see risk from Tripoli persist at this time of year.
Speaker 3: You know, the spring is an adjunct to help people
Speaker 3: keep sorry, help keep people safe. In Massachusetts, we use
Speaker 3: products that are approved for this purpose, and they are
Speaker 3: applied by specialists and used only the way they're intended.
Speaker 3: And so as long as that is true, then we
Speaker 3: should be killing more mosquitoes than doing any other harm.
Speaker 2: And my understanding is that the mosquitoes are not going
Speaker 2: to leave us until the first frost, which can be
Speaker 2: sometime in late October early November. So this problem is
Speaker 2: going to be around for a while and we need
Speaker 2: to be aware of.
Speaker 4: It correct exactly exactly.
Speaker 3: But there's also relatively simple things that people can do
Speaker 3: to help protect themselves. And so I don't want people
Speaker 3: to huddle indoors and never go out and get exercise
Speaker 3: and enjoy this beautiful state of ours. But but it is
Speaker 3: something to be aware of and just remember to take
Speaker 3: steps to protect yourself.
Speaker 2: All right, Well, well, doctor Catherine Brown, thank you very
Speaker 2: much for being with us tonight. This is this important
Speaker 2: and it's it's a it's a dangerous set of circumstances.
Speaker 2: My final question is between the outbreak that we've seen
Speaker 2: so far West now virus in one hand and triple
Speaker 2: E on the other, are they comparable? I mean, we
Speaker 2: want to prevent mosquitoes from getting at us, I get it.
Speaker 2: But are you more concerned about the outbreak of one
Speaker 2: or the other or do you see this of these
Speaker 2: two separate but related outbreaks as a pretty similar in
Speaker 2: terms of their seriousness this year?
Speaker 5: You know? There they are.
Speaker 3: They're similar but different West virus. We almost always see
Speaker 3: more cases of West non virus than we do of tripoli,
Speaker 3: and so more people will be impacted by it. But
Speaker 3: I will also say that the illness that triple E
Speaker 3: causes is usually more severe than the illness that West
Speaker 3: nonvirus causes, and so the impact on the individual and
Speaker 3: the family and loved ones is more significant.
Speaker 2: All right, I really thank you for your time tonight
Speaker 2: and spent a long day for you, and I thank
Speaker 2: you for the clarity of your explanation. I think people
Speaker 2: now understand it much better than they would have before
Speaker 2: your time with us tonight. Thank you so much for
Speaker 2: having joined us. Doctor Catherine Brown, an epidemiologist and veternarian
Speaker 2: with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Thanks again, doctor.
Speaker 3: Brown, thanks for the invitation. You have a good evening you.
Speaker 2: Too as well. All Right, we get back. I'd like
Speaker 2: to talk about this. What precautions are you taking? And
Speaker 2: I know that there are certain towns that are impacted
Speaker 2: more than others. It's it's just so to me, so interesting.
Speaker 2: It's almost like the common cold. We do a lot
Speaker 2: of research on some of the really extraordinary diseases that
Speaker 2: all of us when we hear of, we're very concerned.
Speaker 2: We talked with Rich Kennedy about als last hour, Parkins's disease.
Speaker 2: There's several of those that are devastating, but for someone
Speaker 2: who's bitten by one of these mosquitos, it's equally devastating.
Speaker 2: And there aren't too many things in New England, in
Speaker 2: our region that we need to worry about of a
Speaker 2: massive nature. We get blizzards in the winter time, but
Speaker 2: we tend not to get the devastating tornadoes of the Midwest,
Speaker 2: the hurricanes that hit Florida in the southeastern United States.
Speaker 2: But this is a problem, and this is a real problem.
Speaker 2: It continues to be a problem. I just like to
Speaker 2: open up the conversation and some of you I may
Speaker 2: have some some remedies or some ways in which you
Speaker 2: keep your family safe and keep yourself safe. I'd like
Speaker 2: to share them here this hour six one, seven, two, five,
Speaker 2: four to ten thirty six one seven, nine three one
Speaker 2: ten thirty. Uh. If you are someone who is concerned
Speaker 2: about spraying, I'm not an expert in this, but I
Speaker 2: trust the Department of Public Health officials in Massachusetts that
Speaker 2: the spraying is not going to be the cure worse
Speaker 2: than the problem, or worse than the cause. So you
Speaker 2: have the numbers, Let's open up the phone lines, and
Speaker 2: let's talk about it here on a screened in North
Speaker 2: America's back porch. Just it's safe to call, it's safe
Speaker 2: to talk.
Speaker 6: Uh.
Speaker 2: We have a screened in back porch, metaphorical screened in
Speaker 2: back porch six one, seven, two five four to ten
Speaker 2: thirty six, one seven, nine, three, one ten thirty be
Speaker 2: right back on Nightside. Feel free to join the conversation,
Speaker 2: particularly if you're never called, or if you have a
Speaker 2: knowledge or an expertise in this area, feel free to
Speaker 2: contribute to the to our conversation.
Speaker 1: Now back to Dan Ray Line from the Window World
Speaker 1: night Side Studios on WBZ, the news radio.
Speaker 2: All right, let's I think we're going to get a
Speaker 2: lot of different points of view here and different recommendations
Speaker 2: and help. As I say, this is North America's back porch,
Speaker 2: but this is a night when we are on a
Speaker 2: screened in back porch, so there's no danger to mosquitos.
Speaker 2: If you're with us here on the air. Let me
Speaker 2: go to Henry, who is in Weston, Massachusetts, the town
Speaker 2: of Western not the section of the Calm Wealth. Hi, Henry,
Speaker 2: thanks for calling in. Hello, Hello Henry, welcome to night Side.
Speaker 2: You're on the air, Dan, Yes, sir, Henry, this is
Speaker 2: Dan Ray WBZ Nightside. You are on the air.
Speaker 4: Go right ahead, Dan. I wanted to ask your guests,
Speaker 4: your earlier guest, what is the relationship between the mosquito
Speaker 4: and the horse and the red wing blackbird and the
Speaker 4: pheasants and any other birds that may be in that chain.
Speaker 4: And that's my first question. My second question is when
Speaker 4: you report that communities are spraying, what are they spraying?
Speaker 4: What's the chemical?
Speaker 2: Okay, well, Henry, I wish that doctor Brown was with us,
Speaker 2: because she had had a long day. We agreed to
Speaker 2: simply do the interview, and I did not ask either
Speaker 2: of those questions. Obviously, it's called Eastern equine encephalitis, and
Speaker 2: the implication would be there that somehow horses might be involved.
Speaker 2: What she said was that different species of bird carry
Speaker 2: the the what is injected by the mosquito. The mosquito
Speaker 2: basically extracts that from the bird, and then the mosquito
Speaker 2: things you were me or bites you were me.
Speaker 4: I should say, question, Dan, let me finish, just if.
Speaker 2: I could, Henry, if you don't mind, And so she
Speaker 2: seemed to say that it was primarily birds to mosquitoes
Speaker 2: to humans, and the mosquito was simply a carrier of
Speaker 2: the element which causes the the reaction in our human bodies.
Speaker 2: She did not mention horses, although obviously Eastern ech wine
Speaker 2: encephalitis would seem to suggest that horses will also would
Speaker 2: have been involved in that go ahead. That's the best
Speaker 2: I could do for you in the absence of doctor Brown.
Speaker 2: That's what trying to paraphrase what she had said to us.
Speaker 4: No, you're exactly right, and that's exactly what it implies.
Speaker 4: But there are other birds in that chain that can
Speaker 4: be a transmitter through the mosquito.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 4: And and my second part is what are they spraying?
Speaker 4: What's the chemical or spraying?
Speaker 2: I don't know. I didn't ask her. I simply asked
Speaker 2: her if she was certain that the chemicals that were
Speaker 2: being used were safe, and she seemed to be very
Speaker 2: confident that they were safe. I know that they used
Speaker 2: to think use things like dd E and DDT or
Speaker 2: whatever dat. But my understanding is that after all of
Speaker 2: the outrage that people have expressed at different times, and
Speaker 2: there's still some people, I'm sure who are very concerned
Speaker 2: when they see her here a playing go overhead with
Speaker 2: aerial spring. I didn't challenge her on that. No would
Speaker 2: have I challenged her on that because I think that, again,
Speaker 2: she was the medical expert, as a veterinarian, as an
Speaker 2: epidemiologist who the Apartment of Public Health provided us Tonight.
Speaker 4: My lifetime goes quite a bit further than what you mentioned.
Speaker 4: In terms of chemicals, I won't mention them, but I'm
Speaker 4: sure they're a band today. But in terms of transparency,
Speaker 4: I think the Department of Public Health should tell people
Speaker 4: what they're spraying.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I got to be honest with you on
Speaker 2: if I had held her over to take questions, and
Speaker 2: we we were, you know, basically told in a polite
Speaker 2: fashion that she could give us ten or twelve minutes,
Speaker 2: which we used. And if she had been here, I'm
Speaker 2: sure she would have tried to answer those questions if
Speaker 2: she knew. But do you happen to know by any chance?
Speaker 2: You seem to me to be someone. First of all,
Speaker 2: I think you're a first time caller, correct.
Speaker 7: That is correct?
Speaker 2: Well, first of all, you give me one of our
Speaker 2: cause your first time call. With that very much. It's
Speaker 2: always amazing to me what subjects induced people to call
Speaker 2: for the first time. But I suspect that you probably
Speaker 2: know more about this subject than I do. So let
Speaker 2: me ask you. Are you confident that what is being sprayed?
Speaker 2: And I don't know if Weston has been sprayed or not,
Speaker 2: you might know that. Are you confident that with all
Speaker 2: of the rules and Regulations and the Department of Environmental
Speaker 2: Protection and the State Department of Environmental Protection, the Environmental
Speaker 2: Protection Administration in Washington. Are you pretty convinced that this
Speaker 2: sort of spraying is probably being done as safely as
Speaker 2: possible or are you someone who's concerned.
Speaker 4: No, I have to say yes. I have a lot
Speaker 4: of history with the Department of Public Health, but I
Speaker 4: cannot believe the Department of Public Health would put forward
Speaker 4: the advance of spraying in this fashion without being fully
Speaker 4: confident that it is safe.
Speaker 2: Good. Well, I'm glad to hear you say that, because
Speaker 2: I'm sure that you could have answered it differently, and
Speaker 2: I'm not looking. My purpose tonight was not to inspire,
Speaker 2: you know, panic or apprehension, but to provide information. And
Speaker 2: you've contributed to the conversation. And I welcome you to
Speaker 2: North America's Screendon Virtual Backporch, and I hope you come
Speaker 2: back soon. Thank you, Henry h.
Speaker 4: Miss thank you very much. If I cry again, it's
Speaker 4: my first time, but it'll always be my intention to
Speaker 4: be very kind to you and your guests.
Speaker 2: Yep, No, I'm sure you are. You're a gentleman, and
Speaker 2: I appreciate it very much. And I hope you do
Speaker 2: call again. We always love to incorporate new callers into
Speaker 2: the program. Thank you, very thank you again. I'm very
Speaker 2: familiar with West and I have a lot of friends
Speaker 2: who live out there. Thanks again. We're going to take
Speaker 2: a quick break if you'd like to join the conversation.
Speaker 2: I got one line at six one, seven, two, five,
Speaker 2: four to ten thirty, and I got one line at
Speaker 2: six one seven, nine three one ten thirty. Feel free
Speaker 2: to raise issues. I'm not an expert in this area,
Speaker 2: but I do think that doctor Brown provided some very
Speaker 2: good information. I have some information here. If any of
Speaker 2: you ask me questions that I can answer definitively, I will.
Speaker 2: But I do not play a doctor on radio. And
Speaker 2: when I don't know the answer, I'm honest enough to
Speaker 2: tell you I don't know the answer. Back on Nightside,
Speaker 2: here comes the news break at the bottom of the art.
Speaker 2: It's about nine thirty two right.
Speaker 1: Now, Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2: We're talking about West Nile virus and triple e Eastern
Speaker 2: equine encephalitis mosquito born illnesses that can kill you. Certainly
Speaker 2: triple ly is, as we learn from doctor Brown. The
Speaker 2: more dangerous of those diseases. Any precaution that you take,
Speaker 2: and I have gone through the precautions that are being
Speaker 2: recommended about, you know, avoiding mosquito bites, which means you
Speaker 2: will avoid mosquitoes when you can apply insect repellent when
Speaker 2: you go outdoors. Also be aware of the peak hours
Speaker 2: when mosquitoes are active from dusk to dawn. And also
Speaker 2: you wear long sleeves, long pants, socks when outdoors. I
Speaker 2: mean common sense efforts I think to keep mosquitos away
Speaker 2: from your skin. Also, drain any standing water. A lot
Speaker 2: of time we have standing water in our backyard. You
Speaker 2: may have a bucket in the backyard and had some
Speaker 2: rain lately. Tomorrow I'm going to go through my backyard
Speaker 2: and find some areas that I can just drain, and
Speaker 2: of course always install a repair screens. Now we're on
Speaker 2: North America's Virtual back Porch as we have called this
Speaker 2: program since its inception in two thousand and seven, and
Speaker 2: it is a screened in port, so it's safe to call.
Speaker 2: There were no mosquitos that will bite you. Let me
Speaker 2: go next to Floyd in Ohio. Floyd, haven't heard from
Speaker 2: you in a while? Welcome back, How are.
Speaker 7: You hi, Dad, I've been busy. I'm sorry. Yeah, I'm back.
Speaker 2: I'm glad you've been busy. I hope everything's going well.
Speaker 7: Busy good, you know.
Speaker 2: Well, I hope it's a good busy, not a bad busy,
Speaker 2: is what I was trying to say.
Speaker 7: Good. Yeah, good and bad. That's how life goes anyway.
Speaker 7: It's called material safety data sheet. Material safety data that's
Speaker 7: what So the town's spraying a.
Speaker 5: Certain chemical, or they're even a paint they're painting the
Speaker 5: road with or whatever, the lines of the road, all
Speaker 5: those chemicals, all those paints, it's called materials safety data sheet.
Speaker 7: The town, by law.
Speaker 5: Have to provide you with that information, and you go
Speaker 5: through that list and you can find out what is
Speaker 5: in those chemicals, exposure, how to dispose of it, that
Speaker 5: sort of thing. So if we want to know what
Speaker 5: they're spraying and what's in it and it's harmful for you,
Speaker 5: and then how to avoid it, it's in that material
Speaker 5: safety data sheet.
Speaker 2: Okay, So now is that something that is unique to
Speaker 2: Ohio or is that something.
Speaker 7: No federal, it's federal everything.
Speaker 5: Gasoline has it material safety DASHT. I think it might
Speaker 5: be saving a little backwards. You know, so like if
Speaker 5: I if I'm a landscaper, If I'm a landscaper and
Speaker 5: I'm putting a fertilizer on your lawn, right, that fertilizer
Speaker 5: has a data sheet, So what's in it and what
Speaker 5: the exposure is and how does the dispose of it
Speaker 5: and that toxic So.
Speaker 2: What you're saying is anyone who wants to check with
Speaker 2: their town hall as to if this spring is going
Speaker 2: on in their town hall, or if any sort of
Speaker 2: activity related to this or anything else, they can ask
Speaker 2: for a material safety data sheet. And then of course
Speaker 2: they probably have to do their own research and figure
Speaker 2: out what that particular chemical does or doesn't do. But
Speaker 2: at least it's it's a starting point for.
Speaker 7: To get information.
Speaker 2: Floyd, thank you for that.
Speaker 5: That piece of it's in the public domain, you know,
Speaker 5: I mean the town it's federal.
Speaker 8: All they have EPA stuff they have to to you request.
Speaker 8: They might send you a copy in the mail. You're
Speaker 8: going to get a whole book of stuff, you know,
Speaker 8: and it's going to be concluded with the chemical make
Speaker 8: up and the breakdowns and that sort of stuff. But
Speaker 8: you can read between the lines and kind of figure
Speaker 8: out what the exposure is, but at least it's it's
Speaker 8: available to you.
Speaker 2: Okay, Yeah, I requested from my talent a couple of
Speaker 2: years ago. I was concerned about the water.
Speaker 6: Uh.
Speaker 2: The water was looking just a little different, uh than
Speaker 2: what I had been used to, and the town was
Speaker 2: very good. They gave me some reports that I looked at. Again,
Speaker 2: I'm not a scientist, but the reports provided with enough
Speaker 2: with me, with enough information that comed whatever apprehensions. I had.
Speaker 2: Floyd is always thank.
Speaker 7: You very much, no problem, glad to help talk soon.
Speaker 2: Thanks Floyd. All right, now I get a bunch of
Speaker 2: lines six one, seven, two, five, four to ten thirty,
Speaker 2: triple eight, nine to nine, ten thirty, and also six one, seven, nine, three, one,
Speaker 2: ten thirty. This is an hour that we've kind of
Speaker 2: dedicated because of the outbreak of West Nile virus and
Speaker 2: Tripoli eastern equine encephalitis here in Massachusetts in some areas
Speaker 2: Worcester County, Plymouth County. A friend of mine mentioned to
Speaker 2: me on Monday when I met him for the first
Speaker 2: time this year, hadn't seen him since last year, and
Speaker 2: he said, what's going on? And we just had a
Speaker 2: veterinarian and epidemiologist from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Speaker 2: doctor been Brown with us to talk about this, and again,
Speaker 2: there's not something to panic about, but it's something that
Speaker 2: the more information I think that you know about this,
Speaker 2: the more comfortable you will be. This is a part
Speaker 2: of living in New England, just as I guess hurricanes
Speaker 2: are a part of living in Florida, and maybe tornadoes
Speaker 2: in parts of the Great Midwest and the Plain States.
Speaker 2: Let me go next to Larry in Dennisport. Larry and Dennisport,
Speaker 2: how are you. How's the mosquito population down in the Cape.
Speaker 9: Sure, it's just as bad as the tip population.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm more concerned about ticks, but that's yeah.
Speaker 7: Well here.
Speaker 9: As an avid, as you well know, I'm an avid
Speaker 9: mountain bike.
Speaker 2: What's all the time all?
Speaker 9: I mean, it's all the time. I belong to the
Speaker 9: mountain Bike Club down here and we have these discussions
Speaker 9: all the time. So what I do and what a
Speaker 9: lot of the other guys do in the club is
Speaker 9: we treat what we treat for ticks as the primary
Speaker 9: because a lot of the trails that we ride, the
Speaker 9: brush grows in and you're rubbing against them. We treat
Speaker 9: our clothes with permitthron. Have you heard of?
Speaker 2: Yes, I have. When we have Dan the tick Man
Speaker 2: on every year he talks about permitthron, I believe.
Speaker 9: Yes. And the very important part about it is you
Speaker 9: treat your clothes. It has to dry for twenty four
Speaker 9: hours before you put your clothes on, so it's not
Speaker 9: like a bug spray.
Speaker 2: But it's also it's also if I recall very safe.
Speaker 9: Yes, it is very safe, and it also so it
Speaker 9: doesn't repel mosquitos. But if a tick or a mosquito
Speaker 9: lands on it, I guess there's something that happens and
Speaker 9: it kills them. So that's what I do. It's very
Speaker 9: hard to wear long pants and long shorts when you're
Speaker 9: riding on hot weather and stuff, so any bare skin
Speaker 9: I'll spray myself. But the one thing I'm not going
Speaker 9: to do this year. I'm an avid. I love fishing
Speaker 9: out of a kayak too, and my favorite time the
Speaker 9: fish is at sunset, and I think this year I
Speaker 9: might rein it in a little.
Speaker 2: Bit because not because of the mosquitos or the ticks,
Speaker 2: I assume it's because of the sharks.
Speaker 9: No, I fish fresh water.
Speaker 2: Okay, all right, okay, I wasn't sure where you were kayaking. Okay,
Speaker 2: so you might rate it it because of.
Speaker 9: The mosquitos, Yeah, I think I might. Yeah, yeah, the.
Speaker 2: Tick shark going to bother in the water, you know that.
Speaker 9: No, No, it's the mosquitos and that's when they come
Speaker 9: out at night. And you know, because of my you know,
Speaker 9: the vaccine injury has compromised my immune system, so I
Speaker 9: try to, you know, avoid anything that might affect it.
Speaker 9: So but the promiferant to me is the number one thing.
Speaker 2: All right, Larry, I appreciate it very much. Be well,
Speaker 2: stay safe and enjoy the bike trails.
Speaker 9: Okay, Okay, thanks Dan back on.
Speaker 2: Nights Side right after this.
Speaker 1: Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Speaker 1: Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2: All right, let's keep rolling here. By the way, Rob
Speaker 2: reminded me that, and it's important to say. Even though
Speaker 2: Sirius costs you about ninety well one hundred dollars a year,
Speaker 2: now that's their best price, the iHeart radio app is
Speaker 2: absolutely free. So download the iHeartRadio app for free, and
Speaker 2: it's never going to cost you anything in my opinion,
Speaker 2: because I don't think iHeart has any intention to charge
Speaker 2: you for that. So that's the best deal. The iHeart
Speaker 2: Radio app. I'm proud to say and proud to be
Speaker 2: associated as a member of the iHeart Radio team. Of course,
Speaker 2: also remember the WBZ team which is part of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Let's go to Alan Saugus, Al you were next on Nightside.
Speaker 7: Welcome back boy.
Speaker 10: There's so many things I want to say. I love you,
Speaker 10: I love hearing you. One thing about iHeart I heard
Speaker 10: years ago they were bankrupt making any money.
Speaker 7: I hope they're in the black.
Speaker 10: Now are they in the black?
Speaker 2: It's getting better. You know a lot of the radio
Speaker 2: companies have had some problems over the years, but iHeart
Speaker 2: their stock is coming back a little bit, and WBC's
Speaker 2: going to be in the air for a long time
Speaker 2: to come. So you stick with us, okay, And so
Speaker 2: you know, we also ask people to encourage their members
Speaker 2: of Congress to support the bill which will mandate AM
Speaker 2: radio AM radio in automobiles. There were some manufacturers. Yeah,
Speaker 2: we're thinking of removing AM radio from new automobiles. So
Speaker 2: that's a factor as well. What's on your mind tonight?
Speaker 10: Aw you Well, you probably know this. When cars first
Speaker 10: started becoming out there on the road, they didn't know
Speaker 10: if they should put radios in cars because it might
Speaker 10: be too distracting back in the nineteen twenties and thirties,
Speaker 10: Did you know that?
Speaker 2: I did not know that, But that does not surprise
Speaker 2: because obviously got TVs. Well, you had TVs and you
Speaker 2: got cell phones. And the cell phones are the worst
Speaker 2: thing because you're trying to not that I would do this,
Speaker 2: but you're driving along at seventy miles an hour, traveling
Speaker 2: about one hundred feet a second. When you're at seventy
Speaker 2: miles an hour and you're trying to figure out who
Speaker 2: called me there? You know it's probably some scam phone
Speaker 2: call that you don't want to get in the first place.
Speaker 10: But go ahead, a warranty on your Porsche that you
Speaker 10: don't have.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yes, yes, of course, of course.
Speaker 7: So you were talking.
Speaker 10: I wasn't listening, but your gentleman, the screener, I forget
Speaker 10: his name, but I'm sorry, but I'm talking about the
Speaker 10: mosquito rob yeah, ro Yeah, you're talk about the mosquito
Speaker 10: bite that kills a person. And it made me think
Speaker 10: of the vagaries of life, like what are the I
Speaker 10: go fishing sis in at dusk they come out, you know,
Speaker 10: and I bug spray and the odds, like, is there
Speaker 10: any rhyme or reason? Is it just chaos of life?
Speaker 10: I guess they call it the vagaries of life and death.
Speaker 10: You know, and look at a quarter inch Yeah you
Speaker 10: trump a quarter inch or trump?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 4: Sure?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I mean and he would be dead. Yeah, no, no,
Speaker 2: no question about it. It's the vagaries of life. Also
Speaker 2: in terms of if you left your house, let's say,
Speaker 2: fifteen fifteen seconds earlier or fifteen seconds later, you might
Speaker 2: have been been t boned by that truck that went
Speaker 2: through a red light. Yeah, it's just as it is
Speaker 2: the vagaries of life. And you're sitting there and now
Speaker 2: the intersection is all blocked up, and instead of saying
Speaker 2: thank God I wasn't in that intersection at that moment
Speaker 2: when that train came through or whatever, most of us
Speaker 2: are sitting, Oh, this is going to make me late
Speaker 2: for work. Oh I's supposed to.
Speaker 10: Say, you just mention the G word. Does God have
Speaker 10: anything to do it?
Speaker 4: Is there some kind I.
Speaker 2: Believe in God?
Speaker 9: Okay, and I do a window that we're supposed to
Speaker 9: check out.
Speaker 2: I believe? Well, yeah, I mean I think that there's
Speaker 2: there's a lot to that, you know, again, I can't
Speaker 2: convince friends of mine that God exists. They can't convince
Speaker 2: me that God doesn't exist. I've never turned this radio
Speaker 2: program into you know, a God Hour. We stay away
Speaker 2: from the biblical quotes and all of that. Yeah, but
Speaker 2: I'm proud and honest enough to admit that through all
Speaker 2: my life, I've seen enough things that say to me,
Speaker 2: there's something bigger than us out there, and I would
Speaker 2: like to know.
Speaker 8: Now.
Speaker 10: That leads me to the question, yeap, what how was
Speaker 10: a divine province or just a ten mile an hour
Speaker 10: wind that threw off the shot that didn't Because some
Speaker 10: experts said, when you go sniper shooting, well not sniper shooting,
Speaker 10: but you go target shooting, they won't go out if
Speaker 10: there's a ten or twelve twelve mile breeze because it's
Speaker 10: it's not fun, it's too you know, it's you can't
Speaker 10: really judge what you know. It's like trying to play
Speaker 10: golf and a hurricane or something. According to them, So
Speaker 10: was it the wind or was it God that save
Speaker 10: Donald Trump?
Speaker 2: Well, I don't know. Donald Trump believes in providence. I
Speaker 2: think that's what he said, yeah, and that's what he experienced.
Speaker 2: It Okay, I don't think that a ten mile an
Speaker 2: hour wind would That bullet was fired from about one
Speaker 2: hundred and fifty feet away.
Speaker 7: So they said it.
Speaker 10: I'd listened to some podcasts, some guys.
Speaker 2: Look, there was all sorts of things a podcasts. I'm
Speaker 2: telling you what. I believe that this wasn't a shot
Speaker 2: from a by Do you know the longest shot that
Speaker 2: has actually taken a human life. I think I read
Speaker 2: somewhere like two and a quarter miles. I don't know
Speaker 2: how I see someone and it was some sort of
Speaker 2: I think it was a Ukrainian sniper that took out
Speaker 2: a Russian soldier. You can google it, but no, I
Speaker 2: don't think every one of the members of Congress who
Speaker 2: were in Pennsylvania yesterday were commenting this special community that
Speaker 2: is from Congress that's going to investigate the assassination attempt.
Speaker 2: They all said they couldn't believe what a compact area
Speaker 2: it was. Having been to the Texas school book Depository
Speaker 2: where Lee harveyo Swalled assassinated, from which Lee Harvey Osweald
Speaker 2: assassinated President Kennedy in nineteen sixty three, I was amazed
Speaker 2: how small that Daly Plasa area is, and particularly in
Speaker 2: the little corner of the plaza where the school book depository,
Speaker 2: and the car approached and had to make this hairpin
Speaker 2: turn and had to slow down to almost two or
Speaker 2: three miles an hour to make the turn.
Speaker 10: Well, I ask someone who's a sniper, you know, not
Speaker 10: a sty keep saying sick, someone who plays you.
Speaker 6: Know, knows and ghost target shooting. Because I heard these
Speaker 6: guys they sounded very look, I'm sure they have, and
Speaker 6: they said, the type of the type of bullet. If
Speaker 6: it's a heavier bullet, it's got a snub, more of
Speaker 6: a snub nose, it's even affected more than they didn't
Speaker 6: know what bullet was used.
Speaker 2: I hear you. I hear you, l el. Unfortunately, my
Speaker 2: good producer Rob Brooks is reminding me that I got
Speaker 2: a break for the ten o'clock news. Maybe some night
Speaker 2: we'll take that up. But I got to be honest
Speaker 2: with you, whatever it was, his life was spared, and
Speaker 2: thank god it was. Thank you, Alan, Yes, thank you
Speaker 2: for too soon. Here comes the ten o'clock News on nightside,
Speaker 2: and we get back. We're going to talk about a
Speaker 2: very important subject that might actually be of more interest
Speaker 2: to you, and that is this huge national public data
Speaker 2: breach in which two point nine billion records have been
Speaker 2: stolen and probably some at least one of them are
Speaker 2: yours or mine. Back on Nightside after the ten