The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has contracted with Florida A&M University PHEREC to conduct an extensive evaluation of a new aerial mosquito control system technology being used in Palm Beach County.

These efforts are part of a multi-agency effort in response to 8 cases of human malaria that have been reported by the Palm Beach County Health Department.  The date of first onset was July 12, 2003 and the last date of onset was August 19, 2003.  All 8 cases reside in an area approximately 10 by 12 miles.

Lee County Mosquito Control District is participating in these efforts in the form of 2 persons and 2 vehicles that have been spraying the malaria alert area on a nightly basis.   Staff from the University of Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach and from East Volusia Mosquito Control District have also been working with FDACS and the Palm Beach County Mosquito Control program in performing field surveys focused on mapping areas where Anopheles mosquitoes develop.

Among mosquitoes, only those of the genus Anopheles are capable of transmitting malaria to humans.