The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Vital Signs monthly report covers important health threats and details what can be done to drive down these diseases.
The May 2018 issue, released on May 1, focuses on vector-borne diseases from mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. The report describes the increasing threat of these diseases, our limited capacity to respond, and what federal, state, and local agencies, as well as the general public, can do to help.
Read this issue of Vital Signs and check out the state-specific reports that highlight the burden of tick- and mosquito-borne diseases in each state, which disease is the top threat, the state’s readiness based on our report, and recommendations.
The CDC references research from NACCHO’s 2017 report on “Mosquito Control Capabilities in the U.S.” in the Vital Signs report, including this key statistic:
“State and local health departments and vector control organizations are the nation’s main defense against this increasing threat. Yet, 84% of local vector control organizations lack at least 1 of 5 core vector control competencies.”
NACCHO’s guidance on what state and local agencies can do is also included in Vital Signs.
ADDITIONAL VECTOR CONTROL RESOURCES FROM NACCHO:
- Apply for technical assistance in building core competencies in mosquito control and surveillance. NACCHO encourages local health departments that wish to improve or implement a mosquito control program to apply. A limited number of applications will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis.
- Presentations and resources are available from NACCHO’s 2018 Vector Control Summit, held on March 13–15 in Orlando. The summit focused on building mosquito control capabilities in local jurisdictions and featured speakers from the CDC, local vector control organizations, and other national environmental health organizations.
- Housed within the NACCHO Toolbox, the Vector Control Toolkit contains resources to assist local health departments and other vector control organizations build core competencies in control and surveillance of mosquitoes, ticks, and other vectors.
- NACCHO invites local health department staff to apply to help inform and guide NACCHO’s projects, programs, and policies through participation in the Vector Control Workgroup. Applications will be accepted until Tuesday, May 15.
