Bill Text: CA ACR51 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Concurrent Resolution 51 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Mosquito Awareness Week.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 49-20-1)

Status: (Passed) 2017-05-19 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 53, Statutes of 2017. [ACR51 Detail]

Download: California-2017-ACR51-Chaptered.html

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 51

CHAPTER 53

Relative to Mosquito Awareness Week.

[ Filed with Secretary of State May 19, 2017. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

ACR 51, Gipson. Mosquito Awareness Week.

This measure would designate April 16, 2017, to April 22, 2017, inclusive, as Mosquito Awareness Week.

Fiscal Committee: NO

WHEREAS, The United States Environmental Protection Agency recognizes that mosquito-borne diseases are currently among the world’s leading causes of illness and death; and

WHEREAS, The World Health Organization estimates that more than 300 million clinical cases each year are attributable to mosquito-borne illnesses; and

WHEREAS, Excess numbers of mosquitoes and other vectors spread diseases, reduce enjoyment of both public and private outdoor living spaces, reduce property values, hinder outdoor work, reduce livestock productivity, and have a negative impact on the environment; and

WHEREAS, Two invasive mosquito species in California, Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, which was detected in southern California in 2011, and Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, which was detected in central and northern California in 2013 and southern California in 2014, are posing new public health threats due to their capability to transmit potentially deadly or debilitating diseases, such as dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, and Zika, which can cause significant birth defects; and

WHEREAS, As of March 24, 2017, there have been 527 travel-associated cases of Zika detected in California, including 102 infections in pregnant women and five infants born with complications; and

WHEREAS, In addition to new, emerging diseases, California must remain vigilant in fighting known diseases. West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease that can result in debilitating cases of meningitis and encephalitis and death to humans, horses, avian species, and other wildlife; and

WHEREAS, In 2016, West Nile virus resulted in 19 human deaths in California, and 442 individual cases in 30 counties, of which 329 developed neuroinvasive disease; and

WHEREAS, A 2010 study from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that the low socioeconomic status of a patient was an indicator of the likelihood of West Nile virus cases; and

WHEREAS, Adequately funded mosquito and vector control, disease surveillance, and public awareness programs, coupled with best management practices on public and private lands, are the best ways to prevent outbreaks of West Nile virus and other diseases borne by mosquitoes and other vectors; and

WHEREAS, As a result of the threat mosquitoes posed to California’s economic development and the health of its citizens, the California Legislature enacted, over 100 years ago, California’s Mosquito Abatement Districts Act (Assembly Bill 1590 enacted in 1915); and

WHEREAS, Professional mosquito and vector control based on scientific research has made great advances in safely reducing mosquito and vector populations and the diseases they transmit; and

WHEREAS, Established mosquito-borne and vector-borne diseases such as plague, Lyme disease, flea-borne typhus, and encephalitis, and new and emerging vector-borne diseases such as hantavirus, arenavirus, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis cause illness and sometimes death every year in California; and

WHEREAS, Mosquito and vector control districts throughout the State of California work closely with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department of Public Health to reduce pesticide risks to humans, animals, and the environment while protecting human health from mosquito-borne and vector-borne diseases and nuisance; and

WHEREAS, Best management practices, emphasizing nonchemical approaches, have been developed to guide mosquito control that can significantly reduce mosquito populations for new development and on state and private lands; and

WHEREAS, The State Department of Public Health maintains information on how to eliminate risks from vectors at both www.cdph.ca.gov and www.westnile.ca.gov, which the public is encouraged to review; and

WHEREAS, The public’s awareness of the health benefits associated with safe, professionally applied mosquito and vector control methods will support these efforts, as well as motivate the state and the public to eliminate mosquito and vector breeding sites on public and private property; and

WHEREAS, Educational programs have been developed to include schools, civic groups, private industry, and government agencies, in order to meet the public’s need for information about West Nile virus, other diseases, and mosquito and vector biology and control; and

WHEREAS, Public awareness can result in reduced production of mosquitoes and other vectors on residential, commercial, and public lands by responsible parties; avoidance of the bites of mosquitoes and other vectors when the risk of West Nile virus and other disease transmission is high; detection of human cases of mosquito-borne and vector-borne diseases that may otherwise be misdiagnosed for lack of appropriate laboratory testing; and the formation of mosquito or vector control agencies where needed; and

WHEREAS, Public awareness can result in action to provide adequate funding for existing mosquito and vector control agencies or to create control agencies in areas where there are no existing controls; and

WHEREAS, Mosquito Awareness Week will increase the public’s awareness of the threat of Zika and West Nile virus and other diseases and the activities of the various mosquito and vector research and control agencies working to minimize the health threat within California, and will highlight the educational programs currently available; and

WHEREAS, The Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California has designated the week of April 16 to April 22, 2017, inclusive, as Mosquito Awareness Week in the State of California; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, By the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the week of April 16, 2017, to April 22, 2017 inclusive, as Mosquito Awareness Week; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit a copy of this resolution to the Governor, the State Public Health Officer, and the author for appropriate distribution.