New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: Orange County Vector Control District

The West Nile virus has been detected in Orange County for the first time this year

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Art Pedroza Posted in Disease, Insects, Orange County, Orange County Vector Control District, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District

For Immediate Release: Monday, July 9, 2018

First Indication of West Nile Virus Activity in Orange County for 2018

Garden Grove, CA. The Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District (OCMVCD) has confirmed the first mosquito sample to test positive for West Nile virus (WNV) in 2018. The mosquitoes were collected from the city of Garden Grove, near Garden Grove Blvd. and Newhope St. on July 3, 2018.

“Although we are hoping that this is going to be a mild season for West Nile virus, it is still critical that residents take the necessary precautions to avoid mosquitoes and mosquito bites.” said Robert Cummings, OCMVCD’s Director of Scientific Technical Services. Continue reading→

The O.C. Vector Control District surrenders and cancels plans to spray chemicals on our homes

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Disease, Environment, Health and Medical, Michael Hearst, Orange County, Orange County Vector Control District, Politics, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Mike Hearst, OC Vector Control District Manager

The Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District has bowed to massive public pressure and canceled their plans to spray chemicals on our homes for the remainder of the 2015 mosquito season.

The same thing happened last year. In both cases there was bad weather that contributed to the Vector Control District’s downfall. But this time public pressure accelerated very quickly.

A Facebook group formed to rally those opposed to the spraying. That group quickly grew to over 2,800 members and in the process has become a new political force in Orange County. Continue reading→

The O.C. Vector Control District has canceled tonight’s aerial chemical spraying

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Disease, Health and Medical, Orange County Vector Control District, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Orange County Vector Control District has canceled the chemical spraying they were going to start tonight, according to their Facebook page.

Here is the message they posted tonight: Continue reading→

O.C. Vector Control is spraying a chemical on us that isn’t safe for humans, animals, bees or fish

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Disease, Environment, Health and Medical, Orange County, Orange County Vector Control District, Politics, Public Safety, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Peace 4 Animals, SCIL, And The Pet Place Call To Halt Aerial Spraying Of Poison In The OC

Pets, People, and Honeybees At Risk

By: Jennifer Andrews

Orange County, Calif. — Peace 4 Animals, Social Compassion in Legislation and The Pet Place are calling for the immediate halting of plans for aerial pesticide spraying over Orange County cities on September 9th and 10th. Orange County Vector Control aircraft will drop the pesticide called “Duet” over residential yards, homes, parks, schools, organic farms, etc., in an ill-advised attempt to manage mosquito populations. The State of California approved aerial spraying in spite of thousands of public emails, phone calls, letters, protests, and other communication calling for environmentally friendly and healthy alternatives that protect food and water supplies, the interests of organic farmers, fisheries, honeybees, pets, and people.

There is no reason to spray our homes with toxic chemicals since there have been no deaths due to the West Nile Virus this year and only a handful of people have been ill from the disease. The homeless are sadly mostly at risk as they sleep outside (and are at a higher-risk of toxicity from the spraying). Continue reading→

Why didn’t the OC Vector Control District focus on the homeless in the first place?

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Disease, Health and Medical, homeless, Orange County, Orange County Vector Control District, Public Safety, Santa Ana 8 Comments

Homeless

The Orange County Vector Control District has put the spraying of insecticides in Santa Ana on hold due to the ongoing hot weather, as reported on their website.

They are picking on Santa Ana because our city has allegedly had 40 West Nile Virus infections, which is the highest number of infections of any city in the county, according to county data.

But hold on a minute – it turns out that the reason we have had more West Nile Virus infections is not our population at large but rather one specific demographic – the homeless. Continue reading→

OC Vector Control District Trustee Aguinaga’s response regarding mosquito spraying

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Cecilia Aguinaga, Disease, Health and Medical, Orange County, Orange County Vector Control District, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Cecilia Aguinaga

By: Cecilia Aguinaga, Trustee, OC Vector Control District

I believe the recent events involving efforts to eradicate the West Nile Virus require some clarification in the media. I received several disturbing emails from Santa Ana residents that caused me to take action on their behalf. Over the weekend I made phone calls and talked to Mike Hearst, the District Manager of the Orange County Vector Control District.

Although I do not have the authority to make decisions regarding how the OCVCD conducts its spraying, I was able to discuss the issue and
express the concerns that were voiced by residents. With this information at their disposal, the OCVC agreed to delay their schedule to spray in order that additional notification could be given to the people and agencies of Santa Ana. Continue reading→

The Orange County Vector Control District’s response about spraying in Santa Ana

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Disease, Health and Medical, Orange County, Orange County Vector Control District, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Please don't spray me

The Orange County Vector Control District (OCVCD) has created a formal response to the hundreds if not thousands of emails and calls they have received from Santa Ana residents concerned about chemicals being sprayed in their neighborhoods. The full response is below. It is pretty clear that they still want to spray in Santa Ana.

The OCVCD is still harping on the fact that Santa Ana is leading the County in West Nile Virus infections even though there has been only one death in our city due to this disease. Santa Ana residents have come down with 26 cases of the West Nile Virus – out of some 350,000 residents. For comparison’s sake 12 residents of Anaheim have come down with the West Nile Virus. Click here to see the latest updates on Orange County West Nile Virus cases.

Consider that the Orange County Health Care Agency reported, in February of this year, 16 deaths due to influenza. The common cold kills scores of Americans every year as the elderly often are struck by secondary bacterial respiratory infections. And the Center for Disease Control says that the West Nile Virus is no reason to panic:

Continue reading→

The OC Vector Control District must consider alternatives to spraying in Santa Ana

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Disease, Health and Medical, Orange County, Orange County Vector Control District, Public Safety, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Why is the Orange County Vector Control District so gung ho to spray chemicals in Santa Ana’s inner city neighborhoods when the Center for Disease Control says that:

Fortunately, most people infected with WNV will have no symptoms. About 1 in 5 people who are infected will develop a fever with other symptoms. Less than 1% of infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, neurologic illness.

There is ample scientific research that indicates spraying these insecticides isn’t a great idea at all. (See the links below).

But Santa Ana Councilman Sal Tinajero said in an email this week that he wants the spraying to happen. I spoke to Mayor Miguel Pulido yesterday and he is so far the only Santa Ana Council Member who is fighting the spraying. That is typical as the rest of the City Council is lazy and won’t spend much time on this – even though my sources say they are all being inundated with calls and emails thanks to our articles. We need to keep the pressure up! The contact info for all of the local elected officials is at the end of this post. Continue reading→

How we stopped the mosquito spraying operation in Santa Ana

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Editor Posted in Disease, Health and Medical, Janet Nguyen, Orange County, Orange County Vector Control District, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 11 Comments

Santa Ana Mosquito Gate

Officially the Orange County Vector Control District is saying that they canceled this week’s proposed mosquito insecticide spraying due to the weather and while it is true that the weather this week is not optimal for spraying the insecticide in question there is a lot more to this story.

When I first posted the first press release, last Friday, announcing that the mosquito spraying operation was going to begin this Monday, Sep. 8, 2014, I wondered why only Santa Ana was being targeted. I later received a phone call from a former Santa Ana Council Member asking me to follow up the press release with more information about the spraying in question.

I wrote that post and posted the link on the Facebook pages of various local elected officials and community/political organizations. The post included a full list of the local elected officials including their Facebook pages, phone numbers and both personal and government emails. And then the Facebook community responded… Continue reading→

Update: Santa Ana mosquito spraying canceled for week of Sep. 8-11

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Disease, Environment, Health and Medical, Orange County, Orange County Vector Control District, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Orange County Vector Control District

Adult Mosquito Control To Be Conducted In The City of Santa Ana

*** UPDATE 8/9/14 ***

Due to the current weather conditions, the Orange County Vector Control District has cancelled adult mosquito control applications in the City of Santa Ana until further notice. Two weather conditions are required for a successful adulticide application. The first is an inversion layer of hot and cold air during the evening hours that aid in keeping the fog close to the ground. The second is proper wind speeds between 5-10 mph. Based on current and 10-day forecasts, neither of these conditions will be met in the scheduled application period of September 8th-11th, 2014.

The District remains committed to providing the citizens of Orange County with the highest level of protect from vectors and vector-borne disease. Mosquito control is shared responsibility, and as such, every citizen has a role to play in reducing the threat of West Nile virus. Follow these recommendations to help protect you and your community: Continue reading→

Mayor Pulido to discuss mosquito spraying plans with city officials and Vector Control

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Disease, Health and Medical, Miguel Pulido, Orange County, Orange County Vector Control District, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Mayor Pulido to meet with city officials to discuss the OC Vector Control District’s spraying plan

By Mayor Miguel Pulido

SANTA ANA – Mayor Miguel Pulido will be meeting on Monday morning with Santa Ana city officials, including the City Manager, David Cavazos, to discuss the proposed spraying of an insecticide in Santa Ana’s neighborhoods by the Orange County Vector Control District. The intent of the spraying program is to kill mosquitoes so as to reduce the risk of West Nile Virus transmission in Orange County.

Mayor Pulido is concerned about the short public notice about the spraying as the press release announcing the spraying was distributed last Friday and the Vector Control District was planning to start spraying as early as this Monday, September 8, 2014.

The spraying has since been called off temporarily due to unfavorable weather, as disclosed in an updated press release. Continue reading→

Santa Ana targeted for advanced West Nile Virus prevention measures

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Disease, Health and Medical, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

OC West Nile Virus Human Infection Map

City of Santa Ana

Community Alert: ADVANCED WEST NILE VIRUS PREVENTION MEASURES TO BE CONDUCTED IN THE CITY OF SANTA ANA

SANTA ANA, CA (September 5, 2014) – Orange County is currently experiencing the highest level of West Nile virus infection in mosquitoes ever recorded in the county. West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. Infection can cause severe illness and permanent disabilities, and in rare cases, can result in death.

Despite collaborative efforts with the Orange County Vector Control District to reduce mosquito-breeding sources, expand education to residents, conduct aerial surveillance for out-of-service swimming pools, and intensifying immature mosquito control, the rate of infection in both mosquitoes and birds remains abnormally high. Continue reading→