MVCAC successfully secured $250,000 in one-time funding in the California State Budget for the UC Davis Arbovirus Research and Training (DART) Laboratory, helping protect a critical statewide resource for mosquito and vector control.
DART provides essential services that many local agencies cannot provide on their own, including testing for emerging mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika, dengue and chikungunya; establishing statewide standards for arbovirus testing; and providing emergency testing when local laboratories are unable to operate. More than 65% of California’s mosquito districts rely on DART to help test mosquitoes.
This specialized capacity is increasingly important as invasive Aedes mosquitoes continue to spread and locally acquired dengue becomes a growing reality in California. The $250,000 investment helps keep DART operational, maintain its expert staff and ensure California has the testing and emergency response capacity needed to detect and respond to emerging mosquito-borne diseases. MVCAC and DART will continue working together on a long-term solution to sustain these critical services.