News Briefs
September 4, 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

Call for Photos: This Year in Mosquito Control

MVCAC needs your district photos!

We're looking for MVCAC member districts to submit 1-5 pictures that exemplify something that you've done as part of your 2015 mosquito control efforts. This could be surveillance, control, outreach, media interviews, etc. Please supply a brief caption with each photo you submit.  

Photos will be put together in a MVCAC Legislative Day slide show to give legislators a picture of mosquito control. If every agency submits just one photo we will have over 60 slides!

Please send your photo(s) to Sarah Spencer:

MVCAC Fall Meeting

October 29 and 30 th, 2015
(Trustee session on October 28th in the afternoon)
Embassy Suites San Diego
601 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92101

 
Rooms:
Click here to book a room
or call 619-239-2400
Rate $142, this rate is "prevailing federal per diem" and subject to change.
Note: The hotel is filling up quickly so make your reservations today!

Click here to view the meeting schedule


For more information about this meeting, please click here
 
**Please note: This is the first meeting to use the new policy of a first night's deposit taken at time of reservation as well.

MVCAC 2016 Annual Conference

February 28th - March 2nd , 2016
1209 L Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
 
Rooms:
  • Single/Double Occupancy- $140 per night
  • Triple Occupancy- $165
  • Quadruple Occupancy- $190
  • Room Rate Cut-off: February 5, 2016

For more information about this meeting, please click here
Nominations for Honorary Membership or Meritorious Service are now being accepted!
Eligibility:
Those eligible for Honorary Membership is any person who has rendered exceptional, distinguished service in the interest of mosquito or vector control in the state of California.  Meritorious Service can be conferred on any member or non-member who has made special and significant contributions to the field of mosquito or vector control in the State of California.
 
In order to be considered for either award and placed on the ballot out to corporate members, at least 5 letters of recommendation from 5 different districts need to be
submitted to the MVCAC office NO LATER THAN September 14 th . Ballots will be mailed out following the September 14 th deadline and the announcement will be made at the Fall Board of Directors meeting in San Diego on who has been granted these awards.
 
Letters may be emailed to the MVCAC office:  rhickerson@amgroup.us or bachermann@amgroup.us. Or via mail to 1 Capitol Mall Suite 800, Sacramento CA 95814.
 
Please let us know if you have any questions!
Gene-editing has potential to neutralize disease-carrying abilities of mosquitoes
Researchers say they have an effective way to edit the genes of mosquitoes, raising the possibility that the insects could be genetically modified so they can no longer carry and transmit viruses and parasites that are harmful to humans and animals.

Mosquitoes are a key contributor to the spread of potentially deadly diseases in horses, including West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus.

Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have adapted a gene-editing technique for use in mosquitoes that opens the door to future research.

Read more
To Avoid Mosquitoes, Stop Breathing and Be Invisible
Hungry mosquitoes use an arsenal of sensory tools to hunt you down. They sniff out the carbon dioxide you exhale; they home in on your heat signature. But a previously under-appreciated tool in the mosquito's kit is the same one you use just before slapping at it in horror: vision.

At Caltech, Floris van Breugel put mosquitoes in a wind tunnel to tease apart how they find their meals. He used Aedes aegypti, a tropical species that spreads yellow fever and other diseases. The insects were all female, since female mosquitoes are the bloodsuckers.

The mosquitoes flew in a wind tunnel 1.2 meters long. Close to the upwind end was a dark spot on the floor-to a mosquito, this could be the shape of a person standing below, or some other animal worth checking out.

Read more
Should we mix mosquito repellents and sunscreens?
Combining mosquito repellents with sunscreens, as well as other cosmetics, sounds like a great idea but perhaps it isn't to best way to protect ourselves from exposure to both the sun and mosquitoes.

There are formulations that combine mosquito repellents with various skin moisturizers but the most common combination formulations contain sunscreen and repellents. A combined formulation makes sense given that Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer anywhere in the world. Even the Cancer Council have their own "Repel Sunscreen" formulations.

Read more
Why Cameras Are Taking Thousands of Mosquito Pics
Engineers and entomologists have teamed up to capture and analyze lots of high-resolution images of mosquitoes in a swamp in Tanzania.

They want to use the data to develop better netting and physical protection against Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes-the species responsible for transmitting the malaria parasite.

To observe how mosquitoes engage with insecticide-treated barriers such as netting, researchers have in the past mainly relied on recording the final landing location, which does not give a full picture of how the insects approach and handle protective barriers.

Read more
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.