|
|
Editor’s note: Frances McKim, a partner in Active Solutions and PestBusiness.com, filed the following report after attending the launch of the new WHO book in London.
After much eager anticipation, the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe book entitled Public Health Significance of Urban Pests was revealed to an invited European audience on June 27 during the inaugural meeting of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Environmental Health, held at the House of Commons, London.
The book’s prime objective is to provide an evidence base around which pest control management strategies can be formed for now and into the future. Each subject in "Public Health Significance of Urban Pests" is extensively discussed and supported by a second-to-none list of independent international references.
"Public Health Significance of Urban Pests" considers our main urban pests, the medical conditions they create and the resulting economic burden of disease. It proposes technical and policy options to enable governments to implement adequate surveillance and contingency plans.
|
|
Perhaps surprisingly, it shows how modern living and certain practices (e.g. wall-to-wall carpets, cavity wall insulation, walks in the countryside, etc.) considered exemplary by government or ethical by ‘good citizens’ can encourage pests and pest-borne diseases into the urban environment.
At the launch, Kevin Sweeney, one of the principal authors who was seconded to WHO from EPA, said, “Modern living conditions, urban sprawl and emerging changes in climate make the spread of pests and pest-borne diseases increasingly likely. The effects of these conditions and changes need to be properly monitored and understood.”
“Recent developments in pest-borne diseases, such as cases of West Nile virus in the U.S. and the spread of Lyme disease in both Europe and North America, have signaled strongly the crucial need to carefully assess the potential threat of urban pests,” said Sweeney.
Immediately after the launch, Robert Stuyt, president of the European Pest Management Industry Association (CEPA), said: “This book is a major step forward in recognizing the significance to society of controlling urban pests. The conclusions are very much in line with the strategy of CEPA and I strongly encourage all those within the industry to promote awareness of the conclusions reached and their implications at national and local level.”
A useful 48 page summary of this 569 page book prepared by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health can be downloaded from www.urbanpestsbook.com. This summary is available now in English, German and Spanish with French, Dutch, Polish and Russian versions to follow shortly. Copies of the book will be available to purchase from the WHO bookshop at www.who.int/bookorders/ in early July.