The Annual Dance: Reporting Back to City Council

staugustine.com: the oldest city's home on the Net:

"But less positively, the two consultants recommended that the district switch from using organo-phosphate chemicals to ones used by most other Florida counties but banned in Europe.
The two consultants also reported that the Ponte Vedra Beach station facility, now closed, was not repairable due to rust, and that staff morale was down due to press reports of board infighting.

Activist Ed Slavin of St. Augustine attacked the report, saying Dame and Beidler had performed 'an exercise in good-old-boy issues' and were practicing 'junk science' because they had avoided taking on developers by not addressing vacant land that contains ponds or other waterways.

This is what kills me. You have two people who have nearly 80 years of mosquito control experience under their belts. You have city council people who are influenced by activists armed with all the stuff they find on the internet, because if you read it on the internet, it must be true.

Tie it all in with lazy reporting, see above, and you have a muddying of the facts and no way for a consumer to make an informed decision. They recommend consolidating, and are getting flack for getting rid of OPs in favor of the products being used all over the state (and gee reporter, thanks for clearing up what the products are), and getting new equipment to treat unreachable areas. Aren't those all good things?

Missouri officials start control program, concerned about West Nile

Health Officals Concerned Over 2009 West Nile Virus Season

People already reporting bites in Missouri. And it's March. This does not bode well. You hear that, politicians?

Austin Minn considers cutting mosquito spraying

Postbulletin.com: Rochester, MN

More of the same -- mosquito control is an easy, if short-sighted cut. But I just want to let these politicians know...you'll be getting a lot of angry calls this year if people can't enjoy their backyards because it's too buggy.

Just saying.

AdelaideNow... SA scientists can predict dangerous mosquito plagues

AdelaideNow... SA scientists can predict dangerous mosquito plagues:

Excellent news out of Australia...these kinds of predictive models can be a tremendous asset in mosquito control efforts.

"The warning system could be the latest weapon in the fight against dengue and Ross River fever, University of Adelaide ecologist Associate Professor Corey Bradshaw says.
'This model is a tool that helps predict when there is going to be a higher-than-average outbreak so that population control efforts can be implemented when they are going to be most effective and are most needed,' he said.
The researchers analysed 15 years of data on the northern Australian mosquito that transmits the Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses. They compared population size to environmental factors, such as tides and rainfall.
'Basic environmental monitoring data can be coupled with relatively simple population models to assist in predicting the timing and magnitude of mosquito peaks which lead to disease outbreaks in human populations,' Associate Professor Bradshaw said."

Bad news for Florida Mosquito funding

Budget Crunch Takes Bite Out Mosquito Control Funding - Central Florida News 13

I think we're going to see a lot of this sort of thing this year. With many states in bad financial positions due to the economic downturn, you're going to see a lot of them go for the budget with a hatchet.

Unfortunately, too many people see mosquito control as "optional" -- but this is just poor planning. Cut monitoring, larviciding and adult control, and you're setting yourself up for a nuisance problem at best, a health crisis at worst.

I wish I had answers for these states, counties and other local governments put into these positions, but I predict that we're going to see big problems from mosquito-borne disease this year if control funding gets slashed across the board.

Mark it.

Dengue Fever Drugs in the Works

Novartis Aims to Have Dengue Fever Drugs in Clinical Trials by 2011 - WSJ.com

Interesting news from Novartis. Dengue rears its ugly head in the south US from time to time, usually in Texas. In our West Nile-endemic society, which infects thousands, it's good to remember that WNV is really a relatively mild vector-borne disease. From the article: Dengue infects 50 MILLION each year.

Another Myth Busted: Bats

Mosquitoes: Not Bat's Preferred Food -- Courant.com

Nice letter to the editor in the Hartford Courant describing how the myth that bats make a signficant dent in mosquito populations.

Minnows vs. Larvicide in abandoned ponds

Minnows to the rescue in abandoned swimming pools - USATODAY.com

People are tossing larvicides into pools -- a great idea to reduce mosquito populations.

Unless the pool has already been stocked with mosquitofish (Gambusia).

Mosquitofish eat up to 300 larvae a day, and can be good choices for smaller, contained water areas like pools.

Well-meaning neighbors will hopefully be curtailed by signs that say "Minnows at Work." From the looks of the photo, I hope they're getting overtime.

Are you a mosquito maven?

UC Davis has a skeeter quiz on their website that's worth doing, if you have a free minute.

Accidental Infection of West Nile May Chart Potential Therapies

Report Describes Immune Response to West Nile - May be used to develop therapeutics - Modern Medicine:

From HealthDay:

"Marietjie Venter, Ph.D., from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and colleagues describe the case of a 29-year-old healthy female scientist who became infected with lineage 2 West Nile virus after a needlestick injury, and her subsequent immune response.

The researchers found that symptoms developed on day seven after infection and recovery was complete by day 26. After measuring the levels of 16 cytokines in serum at various times after infection, they found that the largest increases occurred for interferon-alpha from days eight, nine and 13, interferon-inducible protein-10 on day eight, interleukin-13 on days 0 to 11, interleukin-6 and -8 on day 16, and interleukin-15 on day 11. There was a slight increase in tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-5 on day 11.

'The cytokines identified in the current study may serve as additional targets for the development of therapeutic interventions by suppressing proinflammatory responses (by interleukin-13, interleukin-6 and interleukin-8) or supplementing type 1 helper T cell responses (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma and interferon-alpha),' Venter and colleagues conclude."

I don't pretend to know the first thing about infectious disease, but it seems reasonable to assume that this is a case of finding a tremendous silver lining on a black cloud. I can't imagine anything worse that a needle stick with a potentially deadly disease in a laboratory environment. Thankfully, the researcher made a full recovery.

Wonder if she got workman's comp?

Big proboscis leads mosquitoes to death

Using flower power to trap mosquitoes - 18 March 2009 - New Scientist

Researchers at Georgia Southern have developed a new, flower-shaped trap for mosquitoes.

In the middle of the (trap)is a pad soaked in sweet fluid laced with Bt, an insecticide that selectively kills mosquitoes. A fine screen keeps out other insects but allows the mosquito's proboscis through.

In this situation, it does matter how long your proboscis is, I guess.

Mosquito loses election

Nevada state bug named - San Jose Mercury News:

In a (fixed?) election, Nevada lawmakers named the Vivid Dancer Damselfly as the state insect.

How can we let fourth graders take over such a major responsibility as taking over the decision to name a state insect in Nevada? I have a fourth grader, and he would have likely named a Pokemon to the ballot.

At least one senator gave the mosquito its props:

"Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, said he noticed mosquitoes wherever he went, and thought the mosquito should have been the state insect."

West Nile could thrive in recession - Local - The Modesto Bee

West Nile could thrive in recession - Local - The Modesto Bee

The Modesto Bee makes the point that more and more pools and ornamental fountains will likely be too expensive to keep up in this cruddy economy. Or, because we're talking about California here, people may get kicked out of these homes, leaving no one to care for these big old "green pools."

Abandoned swimming pools and fountains, with no chlorine or aerators to move the water around can breed mosquitoes in a matter of days. And what happens if you're the lucky neighbor to this abandoned mosquito water park? You got it.

Most communities will send out a city crew to treat green pools. But if you're getting eaten alive this summer because your neighbor skipped town, tossing a bit of larvicide in there would be a smart move.

Opt-outs end for mosquito spraying | The Journal Gazette

Opt-outs end for mosquito spraying | The Journal Gazette

Smart move, Ft. Wayne.

It's got to be virtually impossible to control mosquitoes when you have to shut off the spray every few houses for someone who prefers to be au naturel.

Best quote: “The relative risk is so minuscule versus the potential gain,” said board president Joseph Steensma, who is also an environmental/industrial health consultant. Two physicians serving on the board agreed that the benefit of protecting the public from West Nile outweighed any potential detriment from being exposed to the pesticide."

Too many false positives for WNV in 2008?

The CDC is reporting that some of the "confirmed" cases of West Nile Virus in 2008 may not be confirmed cases at all.

A batch of diagnositc tests had yielded false positives. The two test lots that were screwing up have been recalled, and the good/bad news is, they don't really treat West Nile, other than trying to alleviate symptoms.

Would be nice to have this all straightened out by this WNV season.

'Star Wars' Gurus Create Insect Death Beam | Danger Room from Wired.com

'Star Wars' Gurus Create Insect Death Beam Danger Room from Wired.com

You know, if the U.N. would allow us to use aerial mosquito control in the countries so horribly plagued by mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases, we wouldn't need to be spending this kind of money for a mosquito fryer.

First sighting of 2009!

It's official...mosquito season has begun. At least in this little neck of suburban Chicagoland. A few days in the 50s, and yesterday's balmy 70 degrees has spurred the little monsters to wing away from their watery cradles and come bother me.

And so...in their honor...Mosquito Maven begins!