Session: Vision II

Moderator: Shereen Brynildson

Recorder: Ary Farajollahi


  1. At its ideal, what should the vector community be like?
  2. Is a paradigm shift needed?

Our session included a group of participants that ranged from Rutgers University researchers to civic servant employees in the field of mosquito control and public health. Focus was shifted primarily on the current status of our vector community and the direction that our participants felt we should maneuver towards. Some of the key issues that were raised include:

 

-          The fact that our community needs to be ready for the next big thing. We need to shift our thinking from a RE-ACTIVE response to a much more PRO-ACTIVE approach in the future.

-          We felt that although a paradigm shift would be needed, we should not ignore the value of our current system.

-          We felt that a GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE would aid our community tremendously. The concept of "Think Global, Act Local" was discussed.

-          We understood that change may be difficult, and that funding would be necessary in order to support and implement future shifts. As a result, we discussed potentials for COMPETITIVE GRANTS and external funding at the federal, state, and local level. Additionally, we felt that BIOTERRORISM (Homeland Security) and TOURISM funds are currently underutilized, in addition to support from PRIVATE INDUSTRY.

-          We felt that our group needs to incorporate the surveillance and control of additional ARTHORPOD VECTORS in our community, such as black flies and ticks. However, a general consensus could not be reached on what would constitute such criteria, i.e. should Bed Bugs be included since they do not act as a true "vector". We felt that our community needs to specifically define the term vector. We also discussed the possibility of RISK MODELLING for arthropod-borne viruses in the near future.

-          We felt that our community needs to better standardize our active efforts and perhaps set forth more detailed protocols that do not differ significantly from one agency to another.

-          We felt that our "community needs" would drive the direction of our efforts in the future and that hot topics in the media and politics would help direct funding allocations. We felt a strong need to for PUBLIC AWARENESS and the fact that DATA TRANSPARENCY would perhaps lead to better communication with all of our community and constituents. The concept of having a more MULTILINGUAL approach was also discussed.

-          We felt that the Center for Vector Biology should take a leadership role and perhaps act as a CENTRAL HUB where intra- and inter- information is dispensed. We would like CVB to provide CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION to members of our community and be available to assist community members on an as-needed basis through increased EXTENSION SERVICES.