by Brianna Crandall — July 15, 2016 — Rentokil North America and its pest control companies Rentokil Steritech, Ehrlich, Presto-X, and Western Exterminator have been awarded a contract by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct a vector control program to help control the species of mosquitoes that carry Zika virus. Rentokil will provide pest control services for two years, subject to government review, from June 2016 to June 2018.
The species of mosquito likely to carry Zika virus (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) are container-breeding mosquitoes that prefer to live in and around human dwellings. Rentokil North America will employ its network of more than 4,000 pest experts and technicians alongside their multifaceted team of technical resources to systematically target affected or high-risk areas.
Additionally, a key component of the contract includes support services that entail community outreach, surveillance and inspection, and planning support for the distribution of materials and educational information.
According to the CDC, Zika virus is transmitted primarily to people through the bite of infected mosquitoes, although sexual transmission has also been documented. There is currently no vaccine or treatment for Zika. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes).
In previous outbreaks, the illness has typically been mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. However, the Zika virus infection in pregnant women can result in microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. Zika also has been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome, an uncommon sickness of the nervous system in which a person’s immune system damages the nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.
For additional information on preventing the spread of Zika, mosquito prevention, and treatment, visit Rentokil’s Mosquitoes / Zika Virus Web page, or CDC’s Zika Virus page. For more FM-specific information, also see the FMLink article “FMLink gathers Zika virus resources for FMs.”
