As the fight against local Zika transmission continues in Florida, the CDC is recommending the use of insecticide to combat mosquitoes in Miami Beach. Both community leaders and residents oppose the use of the controversial insecticide Naled, according to CBS News.
In the Miami neighborhood of Wynwood — where local transmission of the Zika virus was first detected in Florida — an aerial spraying campaign began in August. The spraying campaign has alternately deployed BTI — a bacterial compound which targets mosquito larva and is benign to humans — and a powerful neurotoxin called Naled.
"Naled... can essentially kill anything," Tanjim Hossain, a doctoral research fellow in Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Miami, told CBS News. "When a droplet of the insecticide touches a mosquito, it kills the mosquito pretty much instantaneously."
Despite its effectiveness, some health official say Naled can cause harm to pregnant women and lead to the development of behavioral health issues in their babies, according to CBS News.
After the Director of the CDC previously stated it would not be an option for the neighborhood, the CDC is now recommending aerial spraying via helicopters for Miami Beach. The recommendation is reportedly supported by Gov. Rick Scott (R).
"[Residents] definitely don't want it here," said Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco. ""The governor has a job to do but at the same time he's not boots on the ground here in Miami Beach. We are. We know what the people in Miami Beach want."
According to CBS News, Mr. Grieco is calling for banning the use of Naled in aerial spraying efforts across Miami-Dade County.
The use of Naled in aerial spraying was previously protested by government officials and residents of Puerto Rico. Despite safety assertions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the use of Naled, the CDC abandoned the insecticide in the aerial spraying campaign on the island nation, which has been a hot bed for Zika transmission, due to pushback from the Puerto Rican government.
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