Spring has always been identified with blooming flowers, sprouting leaves and long, sunny days. Unfortunately, spring is now also being identified with the West Nile virus. West Nile virus has been confirmed in animals or birds in every county in New York except for Chenango. It is a problem that affects every New Yorker, and certain precautions are necessary to prevent encephalitis traced to West Nile.

In 1999 and 2000, there were 76 confirmed cases of encephalitis traced to West Nile virus, with seven deaths in 1999 and one death last year. I believe if we educate the public about this frightening illness, we can eliminate the threat of West Nile virus throughout the state.

This year, New York state's county health commissioners are advocating a new plan to minimize the effects of the West Nile virus in the state. Their approach would include:

* Determining where mosquitoes are most apt to breed through geographic "mapping" of stagnant water and low-lying areas. They have proposed that "mapping" be accompanied by the trapping of mosquitoes in order to monitor the presence and activity of the insects.

* Larvacide the areas described above, early. Larvaciding is the killing of mosquito larvae and has been effective at controlling mosquito populations. Larvaciding involves applying chemicals to habitats to kill pre-adult mosquitoes, and can reduce the overall pesticide usage in a control program by reducing or eliminating the need for ground or aerial application of chemicals.

* Running a public education campaign to caution people about the need to eliminate areas where mosquitoes might breed, such as, spare tires, clogged gutters, and stagnant bird feeders, and how they can use insect repellents and proper clothing to avoid infection.

* Send a fraction of the dead crows found locally to the state laboratory for verification that the virus killed the birds. Crows remain an indicator of the presence of the illness. The 7,000 birds sent to Albany last year for diagnosis overwhelmed the capacity of state laboratories to test them. If fewer birds were sent to state labs, results could be reported sooner.

* Limit wide-scale spraying of pesticides to try to kill adult mosquitoes in cases where an outbreak of West Nile virus is under way.

* Set up 10 to 12 regional divisions which could share services such as hiring pesticide applicators to larvacide between April and June.

As the ranking Republican member on the Assembly Health Committee, I support the initiatives proposed by the county health commissioners and believe they would be effective in controlling West Nile virus in New York state.

Unfortunately, there may not be enough funding available in time to implement the program before spring. The April 1 deadline to pass the state budget is quickly approaching, and it doesn't seem as though the budget will be passed on time. In fact, New York state has not passed an on-time budget in 17 years.

New York state has acted irresponsibly and must adopt an on-time budget in order to continue to provide programs protecting the health of residents. It is essential that an effective plan to fight the outbreak of West Nile be implemented, but the plan must start with an on-time state budget.