Everyone seems to be worried over the West Nile Virus, the disease carried by pesky little mosquitoes which hit the New York area last summer, mostly afflicting people in the Borough of Queens, but also causing a scare on Long Island.

Village of Roslyn officials are behaving no differently, as the village is both investigating sites that might attract the bugs and making literature on the disease available.

According to Mayor Janet Galante, the village is looking at "all the sites" in Roslyn. Mosquitoes like water as a place to breed, so village engineers are looking at what drainage problems exist at water sites in Roslyn. Mayor Galante admitted that the village is not equipped to handle their own spraying. Toward that end, the village is taking their leads from both Nassau County and Town of North Hempstead experts. Specifically, the village is talking to the TONH about spraying on Roslyn Pond.

Animals, not humans, face the greatest threat from the West Nile virus. The greatest mortality due to the virus has occurred in the bird and horse population in New York, especially the crow population. It was estimated that up to 1,000 crows on the island were killed by the infection last summer.

The chance of humans becoming seriously ill from the virus is very small, mainly because most humans are able to overcome any infection from the virus by the normal response of their immune system. Those stricken by the virus in the New York area last year were senior citizens whose immune systems are not as strong as those younger than them. Still, if one suffers such symptoms as dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, weakness, blurred vision, breathing difficulties, or irritation of the eyes, nose, lips, mouth or throat, you should see a doctor immediately.

Literature provided by the Citizens Campaign for the Environment and available for free at the Village Hall, 1200 Old Northern Boulevard outlines what people can do to avoid the virus.

To reduce mosquito breeding near one's residence, homeowners should drain and remove containers holding collected rainwater, remove old tires that may hold water, change water in containers for birds, pets and other wildlife every four days, clean rain gutters of leaves in the spring and fall, correct gutters that sag or do not drain water completely, clip tall grass or weeds standing near the house or where people use the yard, remove standing water from pool covers, drain stagnant water from swimming pools and chlorinate the pool water, change stagnant water in ornamental pools and keep the edges of the pools free of debris, empty stagnant water from garbage cans, buckets, wheel barrows and carts, drain water from boats, and do not use lawn care services that promote individual home spraying for mosquitoes.

To avoid being bitten by the culex pipiens bug that carries the disease, residents should use window screens when windows are open to keep the mosquitoes out of the house, they should keep window and door screens in good repair, when outdoors at dusk, evening and dawn, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants as a precaution. People should use insect repellents, but preferably those that do not contain DEET, which has been identified as a toxic chemical that can cause serious health problems if absorbed through the skin.

When aerial or truck spraying of your neighborhood occurs this spring or summer, residents should keep windows closed, air conditioners turned off, they should stay inside during the spraying and keep children and pets inside both during the spraying and until the next morning after the spraying. In addition, most outdoor items, including ornamental fish ponds should be covered. After the spraying occurs, residents should hose off window screens, door handles and hand railings.

When the virus hit the news last summer, it was due in part to the research of Dr. Rick Conetta, a Roslyn resident and director of Critical Care Medicine at Flushing Medical Hospital. Dr. Conetta was the first physician to notice an "unusual, infectious problem" circulating throughout Queens County. At first, New York City officials weren't interested, but once birds began dying at the Bronx Zoo, they started to notice and soon commenced with ambitious spraying projects in the city.

Last summer, doctors and New York area bureaucrats began wondering how the virus came to New York. Right from the beginning, officials suspected it may be a form of bio-terrorism. That is, the disease was intentionally "planted" by foreign hostiles. The disease may also have been introduced by other foreigners entering the country.