City of Irvine
2020 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
Epidemic/ Vector-Borne Disease While local information on diseases and pests for Irvine is not available, Orange County has been impacted by localized outbreaks of diseases. The following are notable instances of diseases and pests that have occurred within Orange County: • H1N1 (Swine flu): The 2009 H1N1 pandemic spread around the world and caused deaths worldwide. Within the context of Orange County, there were 226 cases requiring intensive care and 57 cases where the infection resulted in the death of the patient. 45 • Measles: A 2015 localized outbreak of the measles began at Disneyland in Anaheim. Patient zero was not discovered, but the most likely cause of the outbreak was a visit to the theme park by a person who was a carrier of measles. This likely lead to measles infections to other visitors who were not vaccinated against the measles virus, the majority of whom were minors. By the end of 2015, OCHCA reported 35 instances of measles infections within the County. By 2016, all cases had been successfully treated, and the outbreak was eradicated. 46 , 47 • West Nile Virus: In 2014, all of California experienced a sudden outbreak of West Nile Virus infections, with most cases occurring within Orange County. By the end of the year, the California Department of Public Health reported more than 263 cases, though Orange County reports an even higher number of 280. 48 One middle-aged man and two seniors died as a result of being infected. The number of cases decreased dramatically in 2015 to 97 cases, though this was still high compared to the rest of the 2013-2017 period. In 2017, the number of cases had decreased further to 38, and, by 2018, the number of cases continued to fall to 12, the lowest number of West Nile Virus infections since 2012. 49 • Zika Virus: In 2016, there were 30 reported cases of Zika Virus infections and 12 cases in 2017, an infection rate of 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively. 50 All these cases resulted from residents traveling to foreign countries where the virus was active and then was diagnosed with the infection upon their return. There has never been any Zika infection that occurred within California itself. 51 • COVID-19: In December 2019, COVID -19 was identified in Wuhan, China. As of June 10, 2020, COVID -19 has spread throughout the globe, with over 7 million confirmed cases, and approximately 404,000 deaths worldwide. Within the United States, there are over 2 million confirmed cases, and over 114,000 deaths resulting from the virus. 52 Within Orange County, 7,614 confirmed cases had been identified and 185 deaths as a result of the virus. 53
Tree Mortality GSOB and ISHB were first reported active in Southern California in 2012 and quickly spread across several counties in the state. The ISHB first emerged in coastal areas and then spread inland, with the first specimens at the campus of the University of California, Irvine was identified in 2015. By 2018, they were spread throughout all the County. Currently, there are reported cases of ISHB active in Irvine. For these cases, the City treats infected trees bi-annually.
The ISHB leaves behind small tunnels bored through the trunk of the host tree. Image from Monica Dimson.
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