The state Department of Environmental Protection and the Lancaster County West Nile Virus Mosquito Control Program will apply treatments Wednesday evening to portions of Lancaster city to control adult mosquito populations.
If it's raining Wednesday night, the spraying will take place Thursday.
Large populations of mosquitoes, capable of transmitting West Nile virus, have been detected in these areas, according to DEP officials.
The insecticide Biomist 3+15 will be applied to open spaces in recreation and residential areas via truck-mounted sprayers.
Certain mosquito species carry the West Nile virus, which can cause humans to contract West Nile encephalitis, an infection that can result in inflammation of the brain.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all residents in areas where virus activity has been identified are at risk of getting West Nile encephalitis.
So far this year, 79 mosquito samples, four birds and a horse have tested positive for West Nile virus in Lancaster County.
The incidence of mosquitoes with West Nile virus in eastern Pennsylvania has been significantly up this summer compared to last summer.
The only human cases of West Nile virus in the state this year were reported recently in Philadelphia.
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