November 2003 The Changing State of Mosquito Control In the past, depending upon your point of view, mosquito control was perceived as a spray truck coming through the neighborhood as a relief from the biting nuisance of mosquitoes or as a source of unknown ecological damage and a cause of personal health problems. Today, because of these concerns and the increasing occurrence of mosquito-borne disease, mosquito control has become front page news, particularly in the United States. In the recent past, mosquito-transmitted disease was just something that happened in undeveloped, tropical areas of the world. Well folks, it’s happening here, right in the good old U. S. of A. The difference between mosquito-borne disease in the United States and mosquito-borne disease in underdeveloped areas of the world is that, economically, we have much more to lose.
Issues involving mosquito control are becoming increasingly important on the political agendas of local, state, and federal officials. Just five years ago politicians could shrug their shoulders, view mosquito control operations as a waste of tax dollars, harmful to the environment, and win a following of supporters. Today elected representatives need to become knowledgeable. Those who understand mosquito control tend to support the service, while those who don’t will have a difficult time surviving in today’s political arena. Modern mosquito control programs must address the issues and attitudes that confront us. In order to survive as an effective public service we need to adapt and change to suit the situation. This change has transformed mosquito control from a service to provide comfort to a service to protect the public’s health.
Initially, mosquito control in Florida was established to control mosquito-borne disease. Florida, prior to mosquito control efforts, was riddled with malaria, yellow fever, and dengue fever, not to mention the unbearable nuisance caused by the unimaginable swarms of saltmarsh mosquitoes that plagued our state. After a few decades of mosquito control, basically the drainage of mosquito habitat and the control of vector species, mosquito-borne disease became a rarity, delegated to the sidelines. Established mosquito control programs changed their focus from controlling disease to minimizing the nuisance they caused. Mosquito control worked, it controlled disease and minimized nuisance. Development in Florida took off. Florida became a tropical paradise...unbelievable fishing, cheap land, and great weather year-round. Florida’s economy, based on development and tourism, boomed! Elected officials focused on providing for the needs of development and tourism, mosquito control/public health was placed on the back burner but continued to operate, controlling mosquitoes. More people moved in, population density increased, development occurred primarily along Florida’s coastline - in saltmarshes and mangrove swamps (wetlands). The results was human beings living in or next to vast mosquito production areas, providing a protein source (blood) to mosquitoes for egg production. To counteract this, mosquito control programs had to expand, treating larger areas and applying more pesticides. The heavy use of pesticides throughout Florida started affecting the natural environment and creating concern amongst much of the citizenry. Elected officials and governmental agencies, such as EPA, responded. Application strategies, treatment methods, operational activities, and materials used were questioned and scrutinized. The state of Florida created Chapter 388 of the Florida Statutes - the Mosquito Control Law. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) required the pesticide manufacturing industry to provide research data and re-register their mosquito control products to more stringent standards to determine their safety in regard to humans and the environment. The cost to re-register some products was prohibitive, the amount sold to control mosquitoes didn’t generate enough profit to justify the cost of re-labeling so they were discontinued. Some products were found to be too hazardous to humans or the environment and were discontinued. Some products just weren’t effective. The result was less weapons in the fight to control mosquitoes but the process made for a safer, more effective, and more detailed mosquito control program, both administratively and operationally.
The recent invasion of West Nile Virus into North America is just a glimpse of things to come. The recent appearance of malaria in both humans and mosquitoes, in Virginia and South Florida, is an ominous sign. Pesticide resistance in mosquito populations is worrisome. Dengue fever is raging in Central America, South America and the Carribean, too close for comfort. Global warming has extended the range of several disease vectoring mosquitoes and the mosquito season, throughout the world. The rapid transport of people and cargo is a vehicle for both mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases, to all parts of the globe. The increasing population density of humans around the world makes the spread of disease outbreaks easier and quicker. All of these challenges will force mosquito control and public health agencies, worldwide, to tweak their operations. No longer will mosquito control be on a seasonal, summertime schedule. Surveillance, both the monitoring of mosquito populations and arbovirus activity, must be done on an expanded, year-round basis. Larviciding and adulticiding, in turn, must be expanded and responsive to the surveillance data that’s generated. The education of the public also needs to be increased, not only by mosquito control agencies but also incorporated into our public school systems. As individuals, we need to become more responsible for our own well-being. We need to use repellants when going outdoors, wear pants, long sleeve shirts, socks, report suspected mosquito producing situations to your local mosquito control agency, empty and remove water holding items around homes and businesses, basically, minimize the possibility of getting bit.
Mosquitoes have survived for eons. Their ability to survive is a direct result of their ability to adapt to changes that threaten their survival. Like mosquitoes, we must also change and adapt to situations that threaten our well-being. We can no longer be complacent and nonchalant in our behavior when it comes to dealing with mosquitoes, we must change, as individuals and as a mosquito control operation. Surveillance, larviciding, adulticiding, and education must be expanded. Residential development in or near mosquito production areas needs to be scrutinized. Doctors, hospitals, and public health facilities must be alert to the possibility of mosquito-borne disease when examining a patient. Proper, early diagnosis is absolutely essential in the prevention of a mosquito-borne epidemic. The transmission of information between doctors, veterinarians, medical facilities, public health authorities, and mosquito control agencies needs to be established, increased, and conveyed rapidly. Research needs to be increased to discover and understand mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit. Most importantly, all of us need to maintain a constant vigilance and an open-minded willingness to change, adapt, and evolve, just like the mosquitoes we are trying to control. |