Mosquito-borne disease continues to present a substantial risk to human health. Moreover, climate change and warming temperatures may shift mosquito habitats over time in ways that introduce mosquito-borne diseases in new areas. Diseases such as West Nile Virus, chikungunya, and dengue are the most commonly reported in U.S. states and territories.
To promote vector control and protect human health, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) works with local health departments to better understand and support their efforts in the field. NACCHO hosts the Vector Surveillance and Control workgroup, comprised of local health department staff and subject matter experts who guide NACCHO’s work in this area.
As of January 2021, NACCHO has contacted 1,664 verified vector control programs as part of the 2020 Vector Assessment. The full results of this survey are in development and will be released on NACCHO’s website later this year.
In addition, NACCHO will host another year of the Vector Control Collaborative Mentorship Program from 2021 to 2022. This program pairs experienced vector control programs with new or developing programs in a bidirectional learning opportunity. Both mentors and mentees from previous cohorts have reported that participation in the collaborative helped them build partnerships, learn new skills, and improve their programs.
In addition, NACCHO has recently produced a guide to support local health departments seeking to build or scale up their mosquito control programs. Based on the results from the 2017 National Vector Assessment, NACCHO and its partners within the Vector Surveillance & Control workgroup identified practical steps that local programs can take to build their capacity for effective vector control. In addition, NACCHO has previously developed a factsheet outlining the five core capacities and five supplemental capacities for mosquito control programs.
More resources on vector surveillance and control can be found by searching the Vector Control Toolkit in the NACCHO Toolbox. The NACCHO Toolbox is a free, online collection of public health tools that have been created and shared by members of the public health community. To view the Vector Control Toolkit, visit the NACCHO Toolbox and select “Vector Control Toolkit” from the dropdown menu.
If you have any questions about these tools or would like to submit a tool of your own to the Vector Control Toolkit, please contact the NACCHO Vector Control Program at [email protected].
Visit NACCHO’s vector control webpage for more information and resources.
