San Mateo County Mosquito District 2017 In Review

Article Source: San Mateo County Mosquito & Vector Control District

This Year in Review

2017 is almost over, and it's been an exciting year at the District!

Here are just a few of the things that happened this year.

In February, the District got its first West Nile virus detection of the year. Fortunately, that dead bird would also be the only sign of WNV in San Mateo County during the 2017 season.

Two new permanent staff members joined the District in 2017: vector ecologist Dr. Tara Roth and laboratory director Angie Nakano, who replaced Dr. Nayer Zahiri.

In April, the District participated in Silver Dragon XI: Operation Zika, a full scale Community Emergency Response Team training exercise designed to simulate the response to a mosquito-borne disease outbreak.

The District's second annual open house in April was a huge success, with visitors enjoying a mock backyard inspection, a wildlife exhibit, and laboratory tours. There was reason to celebrate: the District had just been honored as a District of Distinction by the Special Districts Leadership Foundation.

Throughout spring and early summer, a population boom of non-biting midges kept technicians busy in San Mateo, Foster City, and Redwood Shores. Although these insects don't bite or carry disease, the District still had to respond to dozens of flying insect reports to ensure that there weren't also mosquitoes present. Around the same time, the emergence of tussock moth caterpillars caused a stir in Menlo Park and Redwood City. These caterpillars can cause an itchy skin irritation if handled.

During 2017 the District received funding from the CDC to conduct invasive Aedes mosquitosurveillance. These funds were used to hire a seasonal staff member to help search for invasive mosquitoes in San Mateo County. Three regular seasonal staff members were also hired to assist with invasive mosquito prevention for the summer, plus eight seasonal helpers to keep the county's storm water system mosquito-free.

Things got busy in summer as the District office was flooded with calls about yellow jackets. By late fall, the District had responded to 1000 requests, more than twice as many as usual! Unusually high tides and warm weather combined to produce an unusual emergence of salt marsh mosquitoes, too. These day-biting pests made a brief but annoying appearance in neighborhoods near the bay.

Now the year is almost over, and we're looking forward to what 2018 has in store for us!

=

Robert Riechel

E=Mail: SanBrunoPatch.Robert@Yahoo.com

WEB: http://SanBrunoPatch.com

My Posts: http://patch.com/users/robert-riechel

Photo Credit: San Bruno CA Patch Archives

Source Credit: San Mateo County CA Mosquito & Vector Control District

Phone: 650-344-8592

Web Site: http://smcmvcd.org/

CLICK on link below to Subscribe to News Alerts and a Daily Email Newsletter for San Bruno Patch

http://link.patch.com/join/3-0-subscribe?list=US_CA_SANBRUNO_282

#SanBrunoPatch