Mosquito Awareness Week, observed April 16 - 22, 2023, educates California residents about mosquitoes and how to help prevent the spread of mosquito-transmitted diseases.
One of the wettest years in history has left standing water across the state, creating perfect conditions for mosquitoes to develop. Stagnant water creates havens for disease-spreading mosquitoes, and mosquito experts are concerned this could be a long and intense mosquito season.
“After record amounts of rainfall this year, it is really important for all Californians to dump and drain standing water that has accumulated in their yards, porches, and patios,” said Assemblymember Jim Wood, who authored the state resolution recognizing California Mosquito Awareness Week. “It only takes a small amount of water for mosquitoes to develop so removing all stagnant water is a simple but very effective way to help to eliminate mosquitoes from our community. Not only are mosquitoes a nuisance, but they can transmit deadly diseases. Let's all work together to fight the bite!”
West Nile virus, spread by Culex mosquitoes, is the most prevalent and serious mosquito-borne disease in California. There is no human vaccine for West Nile virus, a disease which can cause debilitating cases of meningitis, encephalitis, and even death. In 2022, there were 209 human West Nile virus disease cases from 28 counties in California, including 13 human deaths.
In addition, invasive Aedes mosquitoes continue to spread throughout the state. First detected in 2013, they have spread to 25 counties and 300 cities and towns. These mosquitoes are very hard to control and pose a serious public health threat because they can spread diseases like Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever to people and animal heartworm to pets.
According to the California Department of Public Health, since 2016 there have been nearly 900 California residents with travel-associated dengue infections. While there has not yet been local transmission of dengue in the state, it is occurring at California's borders, making the threat even more real. In 2022, the border state of Sonora, Mexico had more than 9,000 cases with 91 people dying from dengue. In December 2022 in Maricopa County, Arizona, two individuals tested positive for dengue, which they acquired locally from a mosquito bite.
“While all of the rain has been great for the drought, it provides mosquitoes with more places to lay their eggs,” said Wakoli Wekesa, PhD, president of the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California. “As we work to keep Californians safe from mosquito-transmitted diseases and combat the spread of invasive Aedes, it's critical that residents take simple precautions to protect themselves and keep their communities mosquito-free.”
Mosquito experts say the future of mosquito control requires innovation to protect the public from mosquito-borne diseases. Mosquito and vector control agencies in California are exploring the potential use of three innovative technologies: self-limiting mosquitoes, Wolbachia, and irradiation. More information about the need for innovative technologies and how they work is available on the MVCAC website.
Everyone can do their part to help prevent mosquito bites:
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Apply insect repellent containing an EPA-registered active ingredient, including DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR3535, to clothes and exposed skin according to label instructions. Repellents keep mosquitoes from biting. It is important to follow EPA and CDC guidelines for the safe use of repellents on children.
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Dress in long sleeves and pants, especially if outside at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes that can spread West Nile virus are most active.
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Install screens on windows and doors and keep them in good repair to keep mosquitoes out of your home.
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Eliminate all sources of standing water on your property, including in flowerpots, old tires, buckets, pet dishes, and trash cans. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in very small amounts of standing water.
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Repair leaking faucets and broken sprinklers that can contribute to standing water around your home.
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Clean rain gutters clogged with leaves.
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Report neglected swimming pools and day-biting mosquitoes to your local mosquito and vector control agency (agency information can be found at www.mvcac.org)
To learn more, please visit the MVCAC website or the California Department of Public Health Mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Diseases webpage.
About MVCAC
The Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California (MVCAC) is the statewide voice for mosquito and vector control professionals. The association provides public health information, expertise, mosquito and vector-borne disease surveillance, innovative research, professional training, effective legislative and regulatory advocacy on behalf of California public agencies.
[Shared from the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California. View UC IPM's Pest Notes: Mosquitoes for more information.]
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Reisen was nominated by the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District for "his special and significant contributions to the field of mosquito and vector control."
"Dr. Reisen's career spans over forty years during which he has published over 260 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters in the field of medical entomology," wrote nominator Craig Downs, general manager of the Contra Costa MVCAC District.
"Throughout his career, Bill has directed projects studying the vector competence of mosquitoes for newly introduced viruses, established new surveillance testing paradigms, and initiated complex interactive networks, sharing surveillance data with mosquito control agencies and public health officials to speed mosquito control response times and to minimize disease risk to humans. Several examples of his continual scientific contributions include: the effects of climate variation on arthropod-borne pathogen transmission, modeling efforts for predicting arbovirus risk, the application of insecticides for reducing the disease burden of West Nile virus in California, the use of liquid suspension array technologies for the identification of mosquito blood meals and his keen observation of the role of stagnant swimming pools as breeding sites for Culex spp. vectors in Sacramento County.”
Internationally known for his mosquito research and publications spanning more than four decades, Reisen is now a professor emeritus with the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology (PMI), School of Veterinary Medicine. He is the former director of the Center for Vectorborne Diseases (CVEC). He serves as the editor of the Journal of Medical Entomology, and has advised many graduate students affiliated with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, PMI or CVEC. He is currently assisting in the completion of four doctorate and one master thesis.
Read more about Reisen's career on the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology website.
Meritorious service awards may be conferred on MVCAC members or non-members "who have made special and significant contributions to the field of mosquito or vector control in the State of California," according to the award criteria.
Reisen is one of only three UC recipients of this statewide award since 1981. William C. Reeves (1916-2004), UC Berkeley emeritus professor of epidemiology, and Bruce Eldridge, former director of the statewide UC Mosquito Research Program, based at UC Davis, and now professor emeritus of entomology, earlier received the award.
Previous recipients:
- 1981 William C. Reeves, Ph.D.
- 1992 Richard F. Peters
- 1993 John C. Combs
- 1997 Bruce F. Eldridge, Ph.D.
- 1999 Gilbert L. Challet
- 2011 John Stroh
- 2014 David Brown