Agency Needs To Do More To Control Mosquito Population, Grand Jury Finds
Orange County has experienced an epidemic of mosquito-borne illnesses in recent years.
Orange County Register:
Zika Virus Could Be ‘Major Concern’ In Orange County In 5-8 Years Without Proper Mosquito Abatement, Grand Jury Says
The spread of the Zika virus, which can cause birth defects, could be a “major concern” within five to eight years in Orange County, according to an Orange County grand jury report published Tuesday, April 18. To make sure that doesn’t happen, the report noted, the government agency charged with mosquito abatement needs to do more to help quash breeding grounds to prevent future Zika transmission. (Graham, 4/18)
In other public health news —
Sacramento Bee:
Disabled Placards For Thousands Of Dead Californians Part Of Program Abuse
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles needs to significantly beef up efforts to prevent fraud and abuse in the state’s disabled person placard program, a new state audit recommends, noting that officials accept applications lacking required medical documentation, issue too many duplicates, and fail to cancel the placards of people who have died. Almost 3 million people had disabled placards or special license plates as of June 2016, according to Tuesday’s Bureau of State Audits report. (Miller, 4/18)