West Nile Virus: Social, political and capacity impacts on public health

Nolan Newton, PhD, Public Health Pest Management, NC Division of Environmental Health, 1631 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1631, 919-715-3287, Nolan.Newton@ncmail.net

Local and state agencies have been forced to create or rejuvenate mosquito-borne disease control programs during a fiscal crisis in most states. This session will be presented from the practitioner perspective and will focus on issues pertaining to (a) the reasons why public health pest management is a public health concern, (b) the political rationale which determines the strength/support of state and local programs, (c) the human social and cultural factors which have increased incidence and prevalence of arbovirus related disease and (d) the political importance of the West Nile Virus as the vehicle to increase the capacity development of public health pest management programs. The remainder of this presentation will focus on Arbonet, a CDC-run surveillance system used to identify trends. The strengths and drawbacks of this system will be presented from the user’s perspective. Issues such as case definitions and usefulness of data will be highlighted.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

1.Understand the importance of public health pest management as it pertains to public health.
2.Identify reasons why the strength of public health pest management programs is subject to political agendas.
3.Describe the social context that affects disease morbidity and mortality rates
4.Articulate the heightened concerns surrounding West Nile Virus that lead to capacity improvements.
5.Discuss Arbonet and its uses to address disease prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation

Core Environmental Health Functions: New Approaches

The 132nd Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2004) of APHA