News Briefs | September 1, 2021 |
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Happy Labor Day! In honor of the holiday our offices will be closed on
Monday, September 6, 2021. Have a safe and happy holiday!
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Public comment period for Oxitec CA project is open |
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The U.S. EPA has opened a 30-day public comment for Oxitec’s application to amend it Experimental Use Permit (EUP) to bring its Friendly™ Aedes aegypti to California. More information about the application can be found here (please note: this is an updated link as the link the EPA posted yesterday is not working) and there is a comment button at the top of the webpage where you can submit a comment. Comments must be received on or before September 30, 2021.
Additional information about the project is available at https://www.oxitec.com/california and there are numerous communications materials on the member resources section of the MVCAC website. If you have any questions or would like additional information please contact Lisa Yarbrough at lyarbrough@ka-pow.com
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Meritorious Service Award, Honorary Member Award and Service with Distinction Award
Nominations Now Open
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Its Nomination time! Nominations are now open for MVCAC's Meritorious Service Award, Honorary Member Award and the Service with Distinction Award. All nominations must be received in the MVCAC office by September 13th so they may be included on the ballot to all the member districts, or adequate ad hoc committees may be appointed (for Service with Distinction).
Award Criteria:
- Honorary Membership- for any person who has rendered exceptional, distinguished service in the interest of mosquito or vector control in the state of California
- Meritorious Service- for any member or nonmember who have made special and significant contributions to the field of mosquito control in the State of California or elsewhere
- Service with Distinction- may be conferred on those who have made a significant contribution to fulfilling the mission of the Association. They must meet the following criteria: Made exceptional professional or voluntary service in support of the advancement and continued excellence of the Association; have earned national or international distinction for their services in the subject of mosquito and vector control; have made a significant contribution to any local community within the jurisdiction of their agency and focused on mosquito and vector control.
Honorary and Meritorious Service requires 5 letters from district managers in support of their nomination.
Service with Distinction nominations can come from any MVCAC member
For all award nominations, a list of the individuals qualifying accomplishments and achievements must also be received with the nomination letter.
Please submit nominations via email to mvcac@mvcac.org or fax at 916-444-7462 attn: Award Nominations. Ballots for Honorary and Meritorious Service will be sent out after September 14th, with a due date before the Fall meeting in November.
Please do not hesitate to contact the MVCAC office if you have any questions!
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MVCAC Trustee Training
The Ties that Bind: Cultivating Cordial and Effective Relationships with your Legislator
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When: Sep 23, 2021 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Open to any MVCAC member
- 10:00-11:30 AM- CSDA presenting “Your role as a board member”
- 11:30-1:00 PM- MVCAC Legislative Representatives Vanessa Cajina and Conlin Reis will talk about: Legislators: How to win friends and influence people
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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Fall Meeting
October 26-28, Hilton Costa Mesa
*planning in person meeting
Hotel Booking Information:
RATE: $181
BOOKING CUT-OFF: SEPTEMBER 26, 2021
PARKING: $18 SELF
Zoom login info is behind the member login here.
Register:
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MVCAC 2022 Annual Meeting
Registration Now OPEN!
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February 7-9, 2022: Annual Conference, Sacramento Convention Center
February 10, 2022: Board meeting, Sheraton Hotel
Register:
Hotel Information:
Exhibitor Information:
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Call for Papers, Presentations and Posters |
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The Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California (MVCAC) will hold its 90th Annual Conference February 7-9 2022 at the Sacramento Convention Center and Sheraton Grand hotel. You are invited to submit a paper or poster for presentation at the conference.
Presentations should be related to mosquitoes or other vectors, the disease organisms they transmit, or their surveillance and control. Presentations may be about research results, the development and testing of new methods, equipment or products, education, community outreach and the adaptation or development of new technology relating to vector research, surveillance or control, or the administration of a vector control agency.
All presenters must register for the conference and are responsible for registration and arranging their own travel.
Deadline for submission of the completed “Request to Present a Paper” form is Friday, October 8, 2021. Requests received after the deadline may not be accepted.
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2022 William C. Reeves New Investigator Award Applications Due 10/4/21 |
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Applications for the 2022 William C. Reeves New Investigator Award will be accepted through Monday, October 4, 2021. The William C. Reeves New Investigator Award, memorializing Dr. William C. Reeves, who was a renowned University of California entomologist, is sponsored by the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California (MVCAC). The award is presented to the best scientific paper submitted and presented at the annual MVCAC conference.
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2020 MVCAC Proceedings On Sale! |
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MVCAC has extra 2020 Proceedings and Papers for sale and we are slashing the prices!
Prices have been reduced to $10/each including shipping!
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Special Collection: Genetic Control of Mosquitoes |
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The Journal of Medical Entomology is pleased to publish a special collection of Forum articles that review active research on how manipulation of the mosquito genome or microbial biome may be utilized to address current issues with controlling mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases.
All the papers in the collection are made freely available to read and download until July 7, 2022.
David W. Severson
Efforts directed at control and prevention of most mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue, have been, and continue to reflect, limited success. This Forum series, Genetic Control of Mosquitoes, provides an overview of the knowledge gained and difficulties uncovered in employing contemporary genetic and genomic tools to facilitate the development of novel mosquito population suppression and/or replacement technologies.
Mark Q. Benedict
This article highlights studies that were notable for the insights that were gained, the intrinsic difficulties that mosquitoes present, and synthesizes these into recommendations for successful applications of the sterile insect technique and newer technologies to mosquitoes.
Stephen L. Dobson
Rapid and dramatic changes are occurring with sterile insect technologies that are based on irradiation, genetic modification and naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria. This review provides a summary overview of key findings and the current status within the broader context of insect control.
William R. Reid, Ken E. Olson, and Alexander W. E. Franz
Recent developments in synthetic biology and mosquito transgenic technologies have spurred research efforts aimed at developing field-applicable population replacement strategies for Aedes aegypti in which virus susceptible wild-type mosquitoes would be replaced by those that have been genetically modified to be virus-resistant. Here, we discuss the latest developments in antiviral effector design and gene drive development.
Zach N. Adelman and Bianca B. Kojin
Over the last few decades, many approaches have been evaluated to block malaria parasite infection in the mosquito vector. While many of these have reduced the number of parasites, just a few have been able to completely block transmission. As the most promising approaches move towards field-based evaluation, we critically evaluate past effector transgene approaches and highlight future challenges, with an emphasis on the need for developing a deeper pipeline to augment the current best candidates.
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MVCAC Corporate Member
Fiscal Status Report Submission for 2021-22 Dues
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It's that time of year again! Please fill out and email or fax back this year's MVCAC Fiscal Status Report Form for your district's MVCAC dues to be calculated.
Dues for Corporate Members are due on July 1st of each year for the fiscal year ending June 30th of the following year. Unpaid dues will be considered late on September 1st. After September 1st, a late notice will be sent which will include a $50 late payment fee. Corporate members that do not pay their dues and late fee by October 31st will be dropped from the membership rolls.
Please feel free to contact the office if you have any questions. Thank you for supporting MVCAC!
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MVCAC Monthly Committee Meeting Information |
MVCAC All Hands Call: Third Tuesday of every month at 9am
The MVCAC is now holding monthly statewide Zoom meetings to engage, inform and support our members. Join us on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 9am for an Association update and discussions on topics of importance including legislative and regulatory matters, outreach efforts, committee projects, continuing education updates, and COVID-related activities.
If you have a topic you would like to discuss, please email mvcac@mvcac.org with “Monthly Meeting Topic” in the subject line.
PR Committee: Second Thursday of every month at 2pm
The MVCAC PR Committee is now holding monthly Zoom meetings to exchange information, provide updates on subcommittee progress and to support each other as communications professionals.
VVBD Committee: First Tuesday of every month at 8am
Committee members are not required to make every meeting, but are required to check in prior to any meeting they cannot attend.
If you are interested in being on the VVBD email list please email Mir Bear-Johnson (mirbearjohnson@deltavcd.com). The email list is notified of the meetings.
Ad hoc Drone Committee: Second Wednesday of each month at 1pm
Please contact Eric Haas-Stapleton if you would like to be included on email notifications sent by this committee (Eric.Haas@mosquitoes.org).
Laboratory Technologies Committee: Fourth Wednesday of every month from 2pm – 3pm
Please contact Eric Haas-Stapleton if you would like to be included on email notifications sent by this committee (Eric.Haas@mosquitoes.org).
MVCAC New Professionals Virtual Lounge: Second Tuesday once a quarter from 11am – 12pm
This is a networking hour for vector control professionals with less than 5 years of industry experience.
Click here for more information and upcoming topics.
Next meeting topic:
Fall Lounge
Sept 14 – Bring it back to the Aedes
- What are some gaps of information you need?
- What’s your favorite Aedes species?
- How does your prior experience guide you on where you are now as a new professional?
- Invite Vector & Vectorborne Disease Committee chair/members
- Invite PR Committee
All meeting zoom login information is behind the member login, please click the button below to access it.
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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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“The only constant in life is change.”
Whether it’s changing sources, zones, products or even species of mosquitoes, anyone in the world of mosquito control knows this quote very well. And now the Delta Vector Control District has a new change to announce—the District has a new name. Delta Vector Control District is now Delta Mosquito and Vector Control District (District).
According to District Manager Mustapha Debboun, Ph.D., the reason for the change is rooted in increasing constituent understanding.
“I felt the residents of the District did not understand the word, “vector” by itself and didn’t have a clear understanding of our mission until we explain to them that we are providing mosquito surveillance and control services. Adding the word, “mosquito” better reflects and publicizes the primary purposes and goals of the Delta Mosquito and Vector Control District and illustrates that the District’s services and responsibilities include both mosquito and vector surveillance and control activities.”
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Submit your district for the next Agency Spotlight |
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? "Agency Spotlight" 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 Agency Spotlight 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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MVCAC News Briefs - Giant Asian Hornets |
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 Giant Asian Hornets.
CSDA Giant Asian Hornets Video:
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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.
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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) should be submitted 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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