News Briefs | March 22, 2023 | |
Register by March 30th
PacVec Annual Meeting 2023!
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MVCAC member districts are invited to the 6th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Southwest Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (PacVec) to be held April 6-7, 2023. The meeting will be an in-person event at the International Center on the campus of the University of California in Davis, California. Please mark your calendars and register for the meeting!
Registration: https://ucdavis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5AXAtjSTfLK5ZK6.
Please fill out the registration form above for each individual who will attend so that we will have a head count and contact information for everyone as the meeting approaches. At this time, we still have adequate meeting space for approximately 40 additional attendees.
Hotel rooms with discounted rates are available at Hyatt Place UC Davis in Davis, CA. Hyatt Place is on the UC Davis campus and a 21-min walk to the meeting site.
Hyatt Place UC Davis is located next to the Mondavi Center, Manetti Shrem Museum and within walking distance to many campus facilities and Downtown Davis. Enjoy free breakfast by making reservations using the link provided below. Rooms are first-come, first-served (no specific expiration), so booking early is highly recommended!
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Make reservations here. Click on the “Book Now” button, enter your arrival and departure dates, and click the “Book Now” button again. Corporate or Group Code should autogenerate, but if not, please enter 31653 as the group code.
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Visit Google Maps for walking directions and location of the hotel and visit here for hotel location and transportation Information.
PacVec is supported by CDC and serves the southwestern U.S., Hawaii, and the US-affiliated Pacific Islands. Our goal is to improve the capacity of our region to respond to threats from vector-borne diseases through a combination of research, training, and collaboration. The PacVec annual meeting will include presentations on research progress and plans, current issues in vector-borne diseases in our region, and updates on training and engagement with our community of practice.
Click for Draft Agenda
Please send questions anytime to questions@pacvec.us or to coordinator Celia Chen at celchen@ucdavis.edu.
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Save the Date for Spring Budget & Board Meetings! | |
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MVCAC’s Budget Membership review meeting will be taking place on Monday, April 24th from 10:00 am – Noon via Zoom.
Following that, the Spring Board Meeting, including voting on the budget, take place on May 4th from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm on Zoom.
Keep an eye out for the budget draft and board meeting details in late March. In the meantime, if you have any questions, contact MVCAC Executive Director Megan MacNee at mmacnee@amgroup.us.
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Call for Proceedings Papers
Deadline April 7, 2023
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CONTRIBUTIONS: A contribution to the Proceedings is expected from every speaker or poster presenter at the annual meeting of the MVCAC. A full paper is encouraged; however, presenters may submit an “extended abstract”. Because the Proceedings is not ‘peer reviewed’, publication will not preclude submission of a full manuscript elsewhere.
The submission deadline for the MVCAC Proceedings and Papers is April 7, 2023.
All talks must have an associated description in the PMVCAC. The following two options are:
1) Full manuscript
2) Extended abstract
If nothing is submitted by the presenter, the abstract submitted with the request to present a paper will be reviewed and published.
Submit manuscripts and extended abstracts by email to:
Please reference in the email whether the submission is a full paper or an extended abstract. If the title has been changed, please reference the original presentation title.
ALSO NOTE: Tables should be submitted in a Word Document. Figures, graphs, line drawings and photographs must be submitted electronically as separate files using .TIFF or .JPEG format.
The guidelines have changed. To view the new guidelines, click here.
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PacVec Training Grants – Proposals Due March 30!
The annual call for proposals for the PacVec training grant program is now open. Proposals are invited for training grants that are consistent with the PacVec mission and should address themes relevant for public-health policy. This year’s PacVec training grant program offers two different award types:
- Curricular Enhancement in Public-Health Entomology
- Mentored Research for Students and Postdoctoral Scholars
The application deadline is Thursday, March 30, 2023 by 11:59 pm PDT. Please visit the training grant website for details on eligibility, application requirements, and more. These grants are an excellent opportunity for collaboration between mosquito control or public health agencies and academic researchers at any college or university within our region. Interested agencies are encouraged to reach out to potential collaborators to discuss ideas for possible projects.
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Chickens are being supplied by a new farm in Modesto for Northern California and Southern California this year.
Click here to download the order form
Via email or fax to 916-444-7462
Please return order form by April 7, 2023.
Northern and Southern Region
Pick-up date: April 27, 2023 (7 a.m.- 9 a.m.) in Modesto
The address is 3707 Hammett Rd, Modesto, CA 95358
If you have any questions, please email or call R’Mani White in Membership at rwhite@amgroup.us or (916) 440-0826 ext. 125
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Share Your Post COVID-19 Exposure Methods With Us |
MVCAC is looking for member districts to share with us their post COVID exposure methods and logistics. Please email the methods you have in place to mvcac@mvcac.org and we will add them to the COVID-19 page on the MVCAC website.
Thank you!
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MVCAC Member Resources Re: COVID-19 |
MVCAC will be assembling and posting some information and templates of what some Districts have created and shared as they manage their operations. Items like sample document for field staff to carry in addition to their ID to validate status/purpose and actions related to seasonal hires. It will be posted as it becomes available to a new members-only page on the MVCAC website.
Click the button below to login and view.
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Submit your district for the next Spotlight On |
Does your agency have a success story, a staff member you would like to publicly recognize, or an innovation by your agency that you would like to highlight? "Spotlight On" on the MVCAC website is one way to share your story! Each submission which meets the specified criteria will be reviewed and posted on the MVCAC website on the Spotlight On page and highlighted on the homepage in the rotating feature box. Each story will remain posted for 1-2 months before being moved to a publicly archived page.
Interested? Click here to fill out an application!
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HR resources for districts to use and to upload information into |
District Managers - Please upload your HR resources and information into this Google Drive along with using it for your own district.
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2023 International Branch Virtual Symposium Program Now Available | |
Posted by Vector and Vector-borne Disease Committee - March 22, 2023
The online program for the 2023 International Branch Virtual Symposium now available! Check out the program and start planning your schedule. Plus, register now for FREE! Registration is free for ESA members and non-members alike. Spread the word and build excitement for insect science. Register now, review the program, and learn more about the plenary speakers below.
April 24: Climate Change and Its Impact on Biological Control
April 25: Endangered Species, Diversity/Taxonomy, Pest Management, and Social Insects
April 26: Virus Vector Interaction
Note: The program is only available after registration for non-members.
Learn More
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Kretschmer M, Collins J, Dale AP, et al. Notes From the Field: First Evidence of Locally Acquired Dengue Virus Infection — Maricopa County, Arizona, November 2022 | |
Posted by Vector and Vector-borne Disease Committee - March 20, 2023
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:290-291. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7211a5
A Maricopa County, Arizona resident was hospitalized with Dengue-like symptoms on October 19, 2022 after brief travel to Mexicali, Mexico 7 days prior. RT-PCR testing was positive for dengue virus (DENV). Twenty-one mosquito pools within 5 miles of patient’s residence were tested retrospectively. One pool collected on October 5 tested positive for DENV. Whole genome sequencing identified both to be a DENV-3 strain not closely related to known strains in the area of travel. Preexisting response plans were activated and residences within a 150-meter radius were canvassed and residents interviewed. Twelve residents reporting recent Dengue-like symptoms were tested, all of which were negative by RT-PCR. Antibody testing of one of 53 resident without travel history was positive for Dengue antibodies, which were confirmed as DENV-3 by plaque reduction neutralization assay. Retrospective testing of 4,299 mosquito pools were negative. Aedes aegypti collected in BG-Sentinel traps were negative for DENV. The outbreak (2 cases) was declared over on January 4, 2023, following >45 days without additional cases.
Note: This outbreak provides a case study of a local DENV outbreak in a new area and shows the benefits of having a preexisting response plan in the event of local transmission of an Aedes aegypti transmitted virus.
Learn More
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Recovery of western black-legged tick and vertebrate populations after a destructive wildfire in an intensively-studied woodland in northern California | |
Posted by Vector and Vector-borne Disease Committee - March 20, 2023
Pascoe, EL et al. Journal of Vector Ecology, https://doi.org/10.52707/1081-1710-48.1.19
Condensed abstract:
In 2018, the River Fire burned a forest in the far-western U.S.A. where the ecology of tick-borne pathogens had been studied for decades. Forest structure, avifauna, large and small mammals, lizards, ticks, and tick-borne pathogens were assessed after the wildfire in 2019 and 2020. Burning reduced canopy cover and eliminated the layer of thick leaf litter that hosted free-living ticks, which over time was replaced by forbs and grasses. Tick abundance and the vertebrate host community changed dramatically. Assays for pathogens found no B. miyamotoi in either questing or host-feeding ticks, A. phagocytophilum DNA in 4% (1/23) in 2019, and 17% (29/173) in 2020 for questing and host-feeding ticks combined, and B. burgdorferi DNA in just 1% of all ticks collected in 2020 (2/173).Authors concluded that a moderately severe wildfire can have dramatic impacts on the ecology of tick-borne pathogens, with changes posited to continue for multiple years.
Learn More
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MVCAC News Briefs - Zika Updates | |
Please note: The items contained below are not the views or opinions of MVCAC but they are what is being reported in the media. The goal of MVCAC providing this information is to keep MVCAC members informed of all news articles that are being presented regarding Zika.
CDC Zika Virus Web Page
CDC Zika Virus Microsite
CDPH Zika Virus Web Page
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MVCAC News Briefs - Other Outbreaks | |
Please note: The items contained below are not the views or opinions of MVCAC but they are what is being reported in the media. The goal of MVCAC providing this information is to keep MVCAC members informed of all news articles that are being presented regarding other outbreaks.
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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
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Interested in a career in mosquito and vector control? Check out the MVCAC Jobs 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) may be submitted by MVCAC members via this web form (Note: you will need to login to access this form). Non-Members are asked to submit listings to the webmaster at mvcac@mvcac.org.
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MVCAC Sustaining Member Corner |
Note: MVCAC does not endorse the products below, but we do support our Sustaining Members
Central Life Sciences has announced the release of Aqua Zenivex™ E20, a reduced-risk adulticide for mosquito control professionals.
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