Patricia I. Elliott, JD MPH and Heather A. Doyle. Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), 1275 K St NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005, 202/371-9090 ext 1612, pelliott@astho.org

Preventing mosquito-borne diseases, such as West Nile Virus, is a public health challenge faced by many state and local governmental agencies.In an effort to assist states and localities with mosquito control efforts, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) together with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assembled the Mosquito Control Collaborative (MCC). The collaborative consists of state and local government agencies as well as health, environment, agriculture, and mosquito control organizations. MCC produced and distributed a set of consensus recommendations for addressing state and local needs in developing and maintaining sustainable mosquito control programs. The recommendations focus on locally developed, maintained, and funded mosquito control programs and the role of states in planning and supporting these efforts. Recognizing that states and localities have different needs and capacities, the recommendations provide a range of options and best practices for mosquito control programs. Mosquito control issues addressed in the recommendations include threat assessment; control options; use and evaluation of scientific and technical reports; governmental structure options; federal, state, and local roles; legal issues; public information and media relations; stakeholder participation; and workforce and training issues. As states and locals use the recommendations and more is learned about mosquito control, the recommendations will evolve. The presentation will discuss MCC’s recommendations and include examples of how state and local used the recommendations during the 2004 mosquito season.

Learning Objectives:

• List four issues states and locals must consider when developing and maintaining mosquito control programs.
• Identify ways state health agencies can use the recommendations developed by the Mosquito Control Collaborative to address mosquito control.

Keywords: Infectious Diseases, Environmental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I am an employee of ASTHO