Valley Officials Highlight Need for Funding for Zika

Fresno, CA – Today, Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno), District Managers from Fresno Mosquito and Vector Control District and Fresno-Westside Mosquito Abatement, and Fresno and Madera County Public Health Officials joined the Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District to learn about its efforts to evaluate a new strategy to help control the mosquito that can transmit Zika virus. Male mosquitoes with Wolbachia, a bacterium found inside the cells of many insects, were flown in from Lexington, Kentucky and released to help control the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can carry the Zika virus.

“San Joaquin Valley communities and researchers need Congress to pass legislation that would fund Zika response efforts and research so that they can continue educating the public and implementing new strategies, like the one we saw today, to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito which can transmit the Zika virus,” said Rep. Jim Costa. “The National Institutes of Health is working to develop a Zika vaccine, and while Phase I has been completed, additional resources are necessary to complete Phase II. Clearly this is a serious public health concern and Congress must act and pass a bill that would provide funding for researchers, county public health departments and mosquito abatement districts in the Valley and throughout the nation to limit and ultimately stop the transmission of the Zika virus in the United States.”

“The Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary transmitter of Zika virus, is now well established in areas of California’s Central Valley,” said Steve Mulligan, District Manager of the Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District. “To help us protect our residents, it is critical that federal funding be provided for surveillance and control of this mosquito, and ongoing funding is needed for the development and evaluation of novel mosquito control strategies.”

“Collaboration is critical between Mosquito Abatement Districts, Public Health Departments, and the community to minimize the impact of Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases to the valley community,” said David Luchini, Assistant Director of the Fresno County Department of Public Health.

"We're grateful for the recent special funding to conduct vector surveillance and to launch a massive public education campaign to prevent mosquito bites at home and during travel, and to prevent sexual transmission of Zika,” said Van Do-Reynoso, Director of the Madera County Department of Public Health. “However, this limited funding will not sustain our public health efforts. In order to protect the health of our community and to prevent disease, we need to have committed and consistent funding in public health."

“The Fresno County Mosquito abatement districts are doing everything possible to control Aedes aegypti and the diseases they carry,” said Tim Phillips, District Manager of the Fresno Mosquito and Vector Control District. “Personal protection from mosquito bites is the best option that we have available to us at this time. Our next best option is residents eliminating all standing water, even minute amounts.”

“There are gaps in our knowledge concerning the biology of Aedes aegypti, mosquito, which is the major vector of multiple viruses including Zika virus,” said Dr. Anthony Cornel, Director of the UC Mosquito Research Laboratory at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier. “Research funding is needed to conduct field- and laboratory-based studies to learn more about the daily and local spatial movements, longevity, overwintering behavior and Zika virus vector competence of this mosquito in the San Joaquin Valley. Learning more about the biology will assist us immensely to design improved methods to control Aedes aegypti and to implement more efficient vector-based disease surveillance.”

Participants in today’s mosquito release and press conference included:

• Congressman Jim Costa
• Steve Mulligan, District Manager, Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District
• Tim Phillips, District Manager, Fresno Mosquito and Vector Control District
• David Luchini, Assistant Director, Fresno County Department of Public Health
• Van Do-Reynoso, Director, Madera County Department of Public Health
• Dr. Anthony Cornel, Director, UC Mosquito Research Laboratory at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier

For more information about what the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are doing with their limited and depleting funds, visit this link:

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