Cooperative Agreement NU50CK000632

ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL STANDARD TO STRENGTHEN TRAINING, EVALUATION, AND PARTNERSHIPS IN VECTOR-BORNE DISEASE PREVENTION - PROJECT ABSTRACT SUMMARY - AMCA RESPONSE TO CDC-RFA-CK-23-0005 THE AMERICAN MOSQUITO CONTROL ASSOCIATION (AMCA) IS SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL THAT WILL SERVE TO FILL SEVERAL GAPS AS IDENTIFIED IN CDC'S NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH FRAMEWORK FOR THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES IN HUMANS. FIRST, WE WILL DEVELOP A NATIONAL STANDARD FOR TRAINING LOCAL VECTOR CONTROL PROFESSIONALS; THEREBY, INCREASING THE NATION'S CAPACITY AND EFFECTIVENESS TO CONTROL VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES. UPON ASSESSING GAPS IN CURRENT TRAINING PROGRAMS, MATERIALS WILL BE DEVELOPED OR UPDATED AND MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND TERRITORIAL AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS INVOLVED IN VECTOR CONTROL SO THAT STAFF ARE APPROPRIATELY CERTIFIED IN ALL ASPECTS OF PREVENTING AND CONTROLLING VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES, SUCH AS EFFECTIVE MOSQUITO SURVEILLANCE, INSECTICIDE RESISTANCE MONITORING, SAFE APPLICATION OF INSECTICIDES, AND PROPER USE OF ABATEMENT METHODS. SECONDLY, WE WILL EVALUATE THE NECESSARY METEOROLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS THAT ARE VITAL TO ACCURATELY TARGET INTENDED VECTOR POPULATIONS WHILE MINIMIZING OFFSITE IMPACTS TO HUMANS AND NON-TARGET ORGANISMS, ESPECIALLY AFTER NATURAL DISASTERS. THIS FACET OF THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON EVALUATING VARIOUS INPUT PARAMETERS FOR THE PRIMARY DEPOSITIONAL MODELS THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR WIDE AREA MOSQUITO CONTROL APPLICATIONS. WE ANTICIPATE THAT IMPROVED MODEL PARAMETERS WILL GUIDE REGULATORY PROCESSES IN THE FUTURE AS WELL AS GIVE APPLICATORS THE PROPER INFORMATION NEEDED TO TARGET ACTIVE MOSQUITO POPULATIONS. FINALLY, WE WILL SEEK TO ENHANCE COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATIVE COORDINATION AMONG VECTOR CONTROL OPERATIONS AND PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS IN EACH STATE. BY ENLISTING EXPERTS FROM MULTIPLE FEDERAL AGENCIES (EPA, FWS, NMFS, USDA), STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS, UNIVERSITIES, LOCAL MOSQUITO ABATEMENT DISTRICTS, AND PRIVATE CONSULTANTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF THE TRAINING MATERIALS, WE EXPECT GREATER INTERCONNECTED RESPONSES TO FUTURE DISEASE OUTBREAKS BETWEEN PUBLIC HEALTH PARTNERS, PROGRAM MANAGERS AND SPECIALIZED CONSULTANTS. AMCA ENVISIONS THE PROJECT WILL BUILD UPON THE VARIOUS TRAINING PLATFORMS AND BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES MANUALS THAT WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN DEVELOPED AND GUIDE AMCA'S LONG TERM INVOLVEMENT AS A KEY PARTNER ADVOCATING FOR AND EDUCATING A STRONG VECTOR CONTROL WORKFORCE INTO THE FUTURE.