City of Irvine
2020 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
Agricultural Pests In areas where agricultural production occurs, the presence of pests can impact the quality and quantity of products harvested. According to the Orange County Agricultural Commissioner the three main pests impacting agriculture in Orange County include the Light Brown Apple Moth, Glassy-winged sharpshooter, and Asian Citrus Psyllid & HLB. Epidemic/Pandemic/Vector-Borne Disease There are two general classifications to describe the geographic spread of disease. An epidemic is an infectious disease that spreads beyond a localized area, reaching people throughout a large region. A pandemic is an infectious disease that spreads around the world. When a disease is described as vector- borne, it refers to the medium of infection, which is through a third-party organism (i.e., mosquito) known as a vector. Both epidemic and pandemic disease can be described as vector-borne if infection takes place through a vector. The two main factors that influence the spread of disease are the speed at which the pathogen is transmitted from person to person in addition to human behaviors, both individual and societal.
The following are some diseases and pests that could affect the population of Irvine:
• Influenza (the flu) is a virus that leads to illness in humans. Symptoms of the flu include fever, cough, headache, sore throat, muscle, and joint pain, or runny nose. Given that the flu virus is constantly mutating, it is exceptionally difficult to create a vaccine that protects against all strains of the virus. These variations of the flu can occasionally give rise to particularly deadly strains, such as the H1N1 strain that emerged in 2009. Currently, the flu is one of the common diseases around the world, leading to the deaths of as many as 650,000 people per year. 36 • COVID – 19 is the common name used for the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019, which was first identified Wuhan, China in December 2019. The particular coronavirus associated with COVID-19 is called SARS-CoV-2. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. A wide range of COVID- 19 symptoms have been reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness that can appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Symptoms reported include coughing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, and/or new loss of taste or smell. • West Nile Virus is a disease originally from Africa that was first reported in the U.S. in 1999. West Nile Virus is a vector-borne disease, with transmission occurring as a result of mosquito bites. Most people who are infected do not display symptoms or feel sick. Those who display symptoms most often experience high fever, headache, neck stiffness, tiredness, or tremors. More severe symptoms include coma and paralysis. Vulnerable populations, primarily the elderly, may die as a result of their infections. There is currently no vaccine for the virus. 37 • Zika Virus is a disease originally from Uganda that began spreading globally in 2016. Zika is a vector-borne disease that is primarily transmitted from person to person via mosquito bites. Most people who are infected do not experience symptoms; when symptoms occur, they potentially include fever, headache, or muscle pain. It is very rare that Zika results in death. Researchers have discovered that Zika virus infections in pregnant women can sometimes result in microcephaly, a condition where babies are born with small heads. Babies born with microcephaly may die as a result of their physical condition. 38
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