Mosquitoes are a known public nuisance and can vector various diseases. Historically, New Orleans, LA, has long been acquainted with the burden of mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and yellow fever in the 20th century and West Nile virus in the 21st century. Government mosquito control awareness campaigns have been around for decades as has the use of organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides by mosquito abatement districts. However, few data are available on public perception of mosquito control and public usage of insecticides to kill mosquitoes in New Orleans. We conducted a survey from August 2020 to July 2021 to evaluate New Orleans residents' 1) general knowledge regarding mosquito control and 2) what measures and products they use to control mosquitoes. The aim of this survey was to determine how residents contribute to backyard mosquito control by do-it-yourself or professional applications of insecticides. The survey was disseminated both online and via mail. Of the 396 survey participants, nearly all (99.48%) agreed that mosquito control is important in New Orleans because it prevents mosquito bites (30.85%), prevents mosquito borne-diseases (38.51%), and prevents nuisance mosquitoes (29.17%). More than one-third (35%) of survey participants indicated that they empty containers to reduce adult mosquitoes on their own property. More than two-thirds of the participants (69.95%) would not hire a pest management professional to spray their yard for adult mosquitoes, and only 20% of survey participants do apply a pesticide to kill adult mosquitoes on their own property. None of our findings were associated with the level of education, gender, or age of participants. This study suggests that the City of New Orleans Mosquito, Termite and Rodent Control Board educational and outreach campaigns may be an effective tool in spreading mosquito control awareness and contribute to residents' knowledge of mosquito control. The data we collected indicate that residents understand what mosquito control is and why it is important in New Orleans.

Several invasive mosquito species that are nuisances or of medical and veterinary importance have been introduced into the Southeastern region of the USA, posing a threat to other species and the local ecosystems and/or increasing the risk of pathogen transmission to people, livestock, and domestic pets. Prompt and effective monitoring and control of invasive species is essential to prevent them from spreading and causing harmful effects. However, the capacity for invasive mosquito species surveillance is highly variable among mosquito control programs in the Southeast, depending on a combination of factors such as regional geography and climate, access to resources, and the ability to interact with other programs. To facilitate the development of invasive mosquito surveillance in the region, we, the Mosquito BEACONS (Biodiversity Enhancement and Control of Non-native Species) working group, conducted a survey on the capacities of various public health agencies and pest control agencies engaged in mosquito surveillance and control in seven Southeastern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina). Ninety control programs completed the survey, representing an overall response rate of 25.8%. We report key findings from our survey, emphasizing the training and resource needs, and discuss their implications for future invasive mosquito surveillance and control capacity building. By increasing communication and collaboration opportunities (e.g., real-time sharing of collection records, coordinated multistate programs), the establishment of Mosquito BEACONS and the implementation of this survey can accelerate knowledge transfer and improve decision support capacity in response to or in preparation for invasive mosquito surveillance and can establish infrastructure that can be used to inform programs around the world.

It is becoming increasingly likely that rodents will drive future disease epidemics with the continued expansion of cities worldwide. Though transmission risk is a growing concern, relatively little is known about pathogens carried by urban rats. Here, we assess whether the diversity and prevalence of Bartonella bacteria differ according to the (co)occurrence of rat hosts across New Orleans, LA (NO), where both Norway (Rattus norvegicus) and roof rats (Rattus rattus) are found, relative to New York City (NYC) which only harbors Norway rats. We detected human pathogenic Bartonella species in both NYC and New Orleans rodents. We found that Norway rats in New Orleans harbored a more diverse assemblage of Bartonella than Norway rats in NYC and that Norway rats harbored a more diverse and distinct assemblage of Bartonella compared to roof rats in New Orleans. Additionally, Norway rats were more likely to be infected with Bartonella than roof rats in New Orleans. Flea infestation appears to be an important predictor of Bartonella infection in Norway rats across both cities. These findings illustrate that pathogen infections can be heterogeneous in urban rodents and indicate that further study of host species interactions could clarify variation in spillover risk across cities.