News Briefs
July 10, 2015
IN THIS ISSUE...

Jobs

Interested in a career in mosquito and vector control? Check out the MVCAC Job Board at www.mvcac.org

 

Have a Job or RFP to post to MVCAC.org?  

Requests to post job listings (no more than 500 words in length) should be submitted to the webmaster at kandosca@amgroup.us.

 

Do you have important news to share about your district or mosquito and vector issues?

If you would like your news to be included in the MVCAC News Briefs, please send press releases and/or links to relevant news articles to mvcac@mvcac.org
Mailing Address:
1 Capitol Mall
Suite 800
Sacramento, CA 95814

MVCAC Summer Meeting

July 23rd, 2015

Sheraton Grand Sacramento 1230 J St Sacramento, CA 95814

 

Schedule:

Board of Directors Meeting

Tofanelli Room

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.


 

Click here to view the Board Agenda/Packet for this meeting

 

MVCAC Corporate Member Fiscal Status Reports

 

Note: Please disregard the message below if you have already submitted your fiscal status report, or if you have been in touch with MVCAC staff regarding your fiscal status report.


 

New this year, we are collecting all fiscal status information online through the MVCAC member portal.  Instructions on how to login to your district's portal account are below.  Once this updated fiscal information is received, we will send you your 2015-16 dues invoice.

  1. Login using your district login information.  This is the main login that was provided to managers a couple of months ago, if you need it resent please email us at mvcac@mvcac.org.
  2. Once logged in, please click the link titled: "Create Corporate Members Fiscal Status Report 2015-2016"
  3. Enter the information requested: Total Actual Expenditures, Capital/Fixed Asset Expenditures, Operational Expenditures, and your name.
  4. You will then see a confirmation page, please review the information you entered and then click "Save Changes"
  5. After clicking "Save Changes" you should receive a confirmation email.  A dues invoice will be mailed to you by the MVCAC staff shortly after you submit your information.

We know many districts have not closed their books yet, so please submit your fiscal status reports when you are able.  We're hoping to have all dues payments received by September 1, 2015.
 

Please feel free to contact the office if you have any questions or if you need any assistance logging in to or navigating the portal.  Thank you for supporting MVCAC!

Vanderbilt Researchers Develop Antibodies to Fight Chikungunya Virus

In late 2013 the Caribbean had its first case of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus. Today there have been almost 1.2 million cases in 44 countries or territories, including 177 cases in 31 U.S. States.


 

Vanderbilt University Medical Center's James Crowe, MD, the Ann Scott Carell Professor and director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, and his team are reporting the first large panel of antibody treatments against this disease in the current issue of Cell Host and Microbe.


Read more

West Nile virus already in more California counties this season than last year

Asian tiger mosquitos, such as the one pictured above, can carry the West Nile virus. (Courtesy photo) - Los Angeles Daily News

West Nile virus has spread across more counties in the state so far this year but its too early to tell if this season will be as severe as last year, when more than 30 people died of the disease, local vector officials said.


 

Data from the California Department of Public Health show that 31 counties have reported the presence of West Nile virus compared to 21 counties for the same time last year. Tulare, San Joaquin and Riverside counties appear to be the most affected. Riverside County, for example, already has had 57 mosquito samples test positive for the virus while San Bernardino has reported one. That was in Rialto.

 

UK researchers identify new way to kill the malaria parasite

Image/CDC

Scientists have discovered new ways in which the malaria parasite survives in the blood stream of its victims, a discovery that could pave the way to new treatments for the disease.


 

The researchers at the Medical Research Council's (MRC) Toxicology Unit based at the University of Leicester and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine identified a key protein, called a protein kinase, that if targeted stops the disease. The study is published today (Tuesday) in Nature Communications.
 

 

Call for Proceedings Papers

Click here to view the guidelines for contributions

 

It is time to begin preparation of the Proceedings and Papers of the 83rd annual conference of the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California. There were many excellent presentations at the annual meeting in January in Monterey, and I am hopeful that the authors will choose to submit their presentations for publication in the Proceedings. Attached to this e-mail are the guidelines for submitting manuscripts; please read and follow these instructions in preparing your papers. Manuscripts should be submitted electronically and simultaneously to me (janwash@berkeley.edu) and Rachel Hickerson (RHickerson@amgroup.us). The deadline for manuscript submission is July 31, 2015.

West Nile Virus Dead Bird Testing and Hotline

West Nile virus dead bird testing and the WNV Dead Bird Hotline began on April 15, 2015. 

 

Live calls are being answered (1-877-WNV-BIRD) and online reports are being responded to (www.westnile.ca.gov). 

 

Agencies can bypass the message options by calling the agency line at (510-412-4601). This will connect you to the hotline operators. If you need to enter a dead bird report and obtain a dead bird number, please use the Gateway.