San Mateo County Mosquito District July 2018 Meeting Reports

Article Source: San Mateo County Mosquito & Vector Control District

Below are 4 reports as given at the July 11th 2018 Trustees' Meeting

Public Health Education and Outreach Program
June 2018
• Events and presentations:
o San Bruno Community Day in the Park, June 3rd – outreach booth
o San Mateo County Fair, June 9th through 17th – mosquito prevention display
o Pacific Skyline Council Camp Takima, June 21st & 28th – tick and mosquito bite prevention
o Daly City Farmers Market, June 23rd – outreach booth
o Coyote Point Kite Festival, June 30th – outreach booth
• During Fiscal Year 2017/2018, nearly 700 residents responded to the post-service survey. More than half of them (52%) reported that they had received service for yellowjackets or wasps. Respondents rated the service they received at 4.8 out of 5 stars. 366 respondents left comments in a free text field, mostly compliments for specific technicians.
• During Fiscal Year 2017/2018, website traffic increased by 32% compared to FY 2017/2018. 85% of visitors accessed the site from within the US; 63% from within California. The average visitor spent 2.06 seconds on the site and viewed 2.95 pages. About 6% of visitors made a service request using the online request form.
• Top 10 website pages during Fiscal Year 2017/2018:
1. Homepage 6. Mosquitoes and Midges (blog post)
2. Yellowjackets and Wasps (ID & Info) 7. Contact Us
3. Online Service Request 8. Yellowjackets and Wasps (landing page)
4. Yellowjackets and Wasps (What You Can Do) 9. Rodents (landing page)
5. Programs & Services 10. Rodents (ID & Info)
• Email campaigns in May:
o June newsletter: 621 recipients, 37.7% opened, 7.4% clicked

• Vector-borne disease in the news in May:
o Invasive “Aussie Mozzie” Found in San Diego County. Valley Center Happenings, Jun. 1st, 2018 (http://bit.ly/2HG3cL4). Aedes notoscriptus, an invasive mosquito species from Australia, was already found in areas of southern California, but has now been found in San Diego County as well. Unlike Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti, it is not as much a disease vector as a severe nuisance pest.
o Tick Bites 5-Year-Old Girl’s Head; She Woke Up Paralyzed. Patch Mississippi, June 11th, 2018 (http://bit.ly/2l46miJ). Tick paralysis caused by a toxin in tick saliva and usually resolves once the tick has been removed. It is rare overall but most commonly occurs in children.
o CDPH Confirms First Human West Nile Illnesses of 2018 (press release). California Department of Public Health, June 15th, 2018 (http://bit.ly/2HZPdzZ). There have been four human WNV illnesses confirmed in California this year. The illnesses occurred in Kern, Los Angles, and Riverside Counties. There have been no human cases of WNV confirmed in the Bay Area this year.
o Keystone Virus Makes First Known Jump From Mosquitoes To Humans. NPR, June 21st, 2018 (https://n.pr/2yPucJ0). Keystone virus has been found in mosquitoes and wildlife in the southeastern US since the 1960s, but has been confirmed in a human patient for the first time. This is likely due to improved testing; researchers suspect other patients may have had the virus but were not diagnosed.
o Think Your Body is Infested With Insects? You’re Not Alone. National Geographic, June 22nd, 2018 (http://bit.ly/2KapjPQ). Ekbom syndrome, or delusory parasitosis, is the false belief that the body is infested with insects or other parasites. A recent study suggests that nearly 90,000 people in the US are affected by Ekbom syndrome each year. These suffers often seek the assistance of entomologists at vector control programs and universities, but find little relief since no pests can be found.
o Red Meat Allergies Caused by Tick Bites Are On The Rise. NPR The Salt, June 25th, 2018 (https://n.pr/2MW7kdy). A formerly rare allergy to mammal protein triggered by the bite of the lone start tick seems to be on the rise. This tick species is not currently found in California.

MANAGER’S REPORT
SUBJECT: State, Agency and District Activities
State
o Two new bills - AB 1838 would prohibit the imposition of taxes or fees on non-alcoholic carbonated beverages through the year 2030. This was proposed by the state legislature to replace ballot initiative # 17-0050, called the Tax Fairness, Transparency and Accountability Act of 2018 which would have required two thirds majority for passage of any tax or fee. Initiative 17-0050 was sponsored by the carbonated beverage industry in response to soda taxes being proposed by several cities in California. It had received enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot and would have been a major barrier to future benefit assessments proposed by government agencies.
o The Governor has signed SB240, the state budget, which includes the 1-time allocation of $500,000 for CalSurv (our statewide surveillance database) specifically. AB2892 (Quirk) Pest Control: mosquito abatement which would require the department to maintain an interactive Internet Web site for management and dissemination of data on mosquitoborne virus and surveillance control and provide confirmation of tests done by local or state agencies, among other functions is moving forward and is now in Appropriations.
District
• Two trustee still need to complete required Harassment Prevention Training by the end of July.
• Four Trustees need to renew required Ethics Training by the end of July.
• Our self-insurance group, the Vector Control Joint Powers Association has adding active shooter insurance coverage.
• Vector Ecologist Warren Macdonald has accepted an excellent job opportunity at Verily Life Sciences as a molecular biologist working on vector issues. We will miss Warren’s valuable contributions to our Laboratory but are proud to have been a part of his career advancement in the field of vector biology.

REFERENCE MATERIALS AVAILABLE IN THE OFFICE
The District received the following publications and copies are available in the office for review.
A. California Arbovirus Surveillance Bulletins
B. Adult Mosquito Collection Reports
ACRONYMS
A. ACIP = Alliant Crime Insurance Program
B. AMCA = American Mosquito Control Association.
C. BMP = Best Management Practices
D. Bs = Bacillus sphaericus
E. Bti = Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis
F. CARMA = California Affiliated Risk Management Authorities
G. CDC = Centers for Disease Control
H. CDFG = California Department of Fish and Game (old name)
I. CDFW = California Department of Fish and Wildlife (new name)
J. CDPH = California Department of Public Health
K. CDPR = California Department of Pesticide Regulation
L. CSDA = California Special District Association
M. CEQA = California Environmental Quality Act
N. CERT = Community Emergency Response Team
O. DPR = “California” Department of Pesticide Regulation
P. DSC = Delta Stewardship Council
Q. EPA = “United States” Environmental Protection Agency
R. ERMA = Employment Risk Management Authority
S. ESA = Entomological Society of America
T. FIFRA = Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
U. IPM = Integrated Pest Management
V. ISB = Independent Science Board
W. LAFCO = Local Agency Formation Commission.
X. LAO = Legislative Analyst’s Office
Y. LEED = Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Z. MAD = Mosquito Abatement District
AA. MCR = Municipal Service Reviews
BB. MRP = Monitoring and Reporting Program
CC. MVCAC = Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California.
DD. MVCD = Mosquito and Vector Control District
EE. NMFS = National Marine Fisheries Service
FF. NPDES = National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
GG. NWR = National Wildlife Refuges
HH. NRDC = National Resources Defense Council
II. OEHHA = Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
JJ. PEIR = Programmatic Environmental Impact Report
KK. SDLF = Special District Leadership Foundation
LL. SMCMVCD = San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District
MM. SOVE = Society of Vector Ecology
NN. USEPA = U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
OO. USFWS = U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
PP. VCJPA = Vector Control Joint Powers Agency
QQ. VCD = Vector Control District
RR. VCT = Vector Control Technician
SS. XR-G = Extended Residual Granular (pesticide product - Altosid)
TT. XRT = Extended Residual Tablet (pesticide product – Clarke)
UU. WNV = West Nile Virus

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Robert Riechel

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

Phone: 650-344-8592

Web Site: http://smcmvcd.org/

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