Organization, Responsibilities, & History

VECTOR CONTROL BRANCH.

  • Immediate response capability to contain and eradicate, or suppress, outbreaks of diseases such as rabies, plague, malaria, dengue fever, and other vector-borne diseases, abate mosquitoes, flies, and rodents during natural disasters, and contain and eradicate, if feasible, alien immigrant insect vectors and zoonotic diseases;
  • Maintaining vector populations below annoyance or disease transmitting levels by conducting surveillance and abatement measures, by investigating and resolving complaints of vector nuisance, and by providing inspectional and technical advisory services on vermin control to householders and businesses upon request; and,
  • Preventing entry of alien species of malaria or filariasis transmitting mosquitoes, and plague infected rodents by maintaining intensive surveillance and control measures at airports and seaports.

INSPECTION & ABATEMENT SECTION.

INSPECTION TEAMS.

  • Enforces administrative rules pertaining to insects, rodents, and other animals of public health concern.
  • Investigates and resolves by persuasion, education, or enforcement action, public complaints of vector nuisance.
  • Provides inspectional and technical advice on vermin control to householders and businesses upon request.
  • Conducts surveys, provides information to the public, and assists in vermin control during natural disasters and other vector emergencies.
  • Conducts ports-of-entry surveillance for immigrant vector species at seaports through shipboard inspection, at airports through aircraft inspection and disinsection, mosquito ovitrapping, rodent inspection and trapping, and entomological surveys.
  • Conducts population measurements and evaluations of the principal endemic vector species, including mosquitoes, flies, and rodents by standard techniques and makes preliminary identification of all vector species.
  • Verifies compliance with rodent control requirements of City and County demolition permits.
  • Conducts vector and epidemiological surveys as required for research and branch informational needs.
  • Develops and maintains liaisons with government and private agencies to develop joint vector control projects for mutual benefit.

ABATEMENT TEAMS.

  • Conducts island-wide vector abatement program to maintain mosquito, rodent, and other vector populations below nuisance, or disease transmitting levels.
  • Maintains a mosquito and rodent-free zone around seaports and airports through a program of perimeter insecticide treatment, trapping, and rodenticiding to prevent entry of alien malaria transmitting mosquitoes and plague-infected rodents.
  • Conducts emergency vector control operations to prevent disease outbreak during natural disasters, contain or eliminate disease outbreaks, and eradicate immigrant alien vectors before they become established.
  • Conducts surveys to locate sources of vector breeding that cause nuisance or diseases, and to obtain indices of vector populations to detect and prevent problems before they occur.
  • Abates vermin posing an imminent health hazard in residences of people considered by Vector Control inspectors to be either mentally, physically, or financially incapable.
  • Maintains sentinel flocks, trap birds, and small mammals for serological screening by the laboratory unit as required.

TRAINING & RESEARCH SECTION.

  • Plans and coordinates statewide training of Branch personnel in all phases of vector control including training required for certification of restricted use pesticides (Sec. 4-66-56 H.A.R.) and provides technical assistance in resolving difficult vector problems.
  • Provides technical assistance to other government agencies, animal farms, sugar plantations and other businesses upon request or when resolving public complaints’ of vector nuisance caused by these concerns.
  • Conducts applied research to develop control methods to cope’ with insect immunity to available pesticides and compliance with regulatory environmental restrictions on pesticide use.
  • Provides technical assistance to operational sections during disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and other vector emergencies.
  • Catalogs and maintains Branch’s reference collection of insects of public health importance and provides taxonomic identification services of insects and other pests to program and public.
  • Plans, develops, and coordinates field surveillance activities to accumulate data for establishing vector population estimates.
  • Coordinates statewide vector laboratory functions.
  • Conducts diagnostic tests for surveillance and identification of zoonotic diseases by serological, biochemical, and microbiological means.
  • Conducts post-mortem examinations of rodents, other animals, and birds for clinical and pathological reactions, and isolation and identification of causative organisms.
  • Provides talks on vectors and their control to students, businesses, professional organizations, and community groups; also prepares manuscripts for publication in scientific and trade journals.
  • Develops informational and training material for use by schools and organizations desiring to promote vector awareness and self help by the communitProtecting Hawaii from disease is a major undertaking, and the state has recently reached several milestones in mosquito-borne disease prevention and response.

VCB HISTORY.

With the support of the Hawaii State Legislature, the Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) has been diligently ramping up its vector control capacity by increasing staff positions on all islands, conducting training on mosquito surveillance and disease response protocols, and ensuring sufficient equipment and supplies are available to effectively respond to potential disease outbreaks from mosquitoes, should it be necessary.

“Having a well-equipped vector control program year-round is crucial to maintain monitoring and reduction of mosquitoes and other vectors even when we aren’t engaged in an active disease outbreak,” said Keith Kawaoka, DOH’s deputy director of the Environmental Health Administration. “Increased staffing means our Vector Control program will be ready to immediately respond to suspect or confirmed cases of mosquito-borne disease and have the resources to control mosquitoes and their breeding areas in order to reduce the risk of diseases spreading. Our Vector Control program is also a key partner in routine control of mosquito populations within the community through ongoing education, source reduction, and larviciding.”

While vector control has been a crucial focal point, other department-wide efforts to better prepare the state to both prevent and respond to the possibility of mosquito-borne disease outbreaks, especially Zika, are underway and making substantial progress.

Statewide Mosquito-borne Disease Response Plan Completed and Tested.

Drawing on lessons learned from the 2015–16 dengue outbreak, which was focused on Hawaii Island and sickened 264 people, DOH collaborated with local, state, and federal partners to develop the Joint Hawaii Mosquito-borne Disease Outbreak Emergency Operations Plan so that the State may be better prepared to respond to an outbreak, especially with the threat of Zika growing in regions worldwide. The plan provides essential and evidence-based guidance to state and county emergency management agencies prior to, during, and immediately after a mosquito-borne disease outbreak. Hawaii’s plan is closely aligned with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plan guidance and further tailored for Hawaii’s unique situation. DOH has hosted a series of tabletop exercises to collect feedback from partners and stakeholders.

Education and Outreach Campaign.

Public education efforts have been driven by the Fight the Bite program, a statewide campaign that urges Hawaii to collectively prevent, prepare and protect against mosquito-borne diseases. A wide range of educational materials are available to arm the public with knowledge about these diseases and how they can take proactive measures in their communities.

In addition to being made available online at www.fightthebitehawaii.com, DOH is working with health centers and clinics statewide to ensure providers are properly trained on how to use and distribute materials to their patients/clients. DOH conducted, for Hawaii’s clinicians, the first ever statewide public health grand rounds webinar, which focused on the clinical management of Zika infection.