[New Book] WHO Releases Public Health/Urban Pests Book

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced in June the availability of its first book investigating the significance of health-related issues posed by urban pests. Titled “Public Health Significance of Urban Pests,” this 569-page book is now available to the global pest management community and is internationally recognized as a definitive source of unbiased information, according to the National Pest Management Association.

The book was introduced 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, United Kingdom.

“For many years we have been connecting diseases posed by pests with the need for professional pest management services,” said Rob Lederer, executive vice president, NPMA. “The key findings in this ground-breaking book are critical and stress the need for us to continue to educate the public globally on disease risks posed by structural pests.”

The book relies heavily on the current status of urban pests and health in Europe and North America, and mostly draws from scientific evidence and regulatory approaches developed within these countries.

Two key chapters were co-authored by Greg Baumann, vice president of technical services, NPMA. These chapters, titled “Bed Bugs” and “Integrated Pest Management,” provide a comprehensive view of the global impact of pest threats as well as treatment practices supported by NPMA.

Bob Rosenberg, senior vice president, NPMA, also participated in the development process of this book. Both Baumann and Rosenberg were appointed as temporary advisors during the three-year creation of the publication.

“We were very pleased to have NPMA staff play a key role in both the writing and overall development of this book,” Lederer said.

Here’s a look at some of the key findings discussed in the publication:

• Borders between urban and rural environments make areas more susceptible to pests and the diseases they may carry. Regulations should be in place to ensure that buildings are pest-proofed and do not create conducive conditions.
• Although regulations that cover the sale and use of pesticides exist throughout Europe and North America, a stricter differentiation between professional and over-the-counter products should be established and enforced to prevent the general public from having access to products that are more appropriately used by trained applicators.
• Through scientific-based risk assessments and proper approval processes, products used should not pose an unacceptable risk to consumers, applicators or the environment.
• The prohibitive costs associated with obtaining pesticide approvals should be reconsidered and, when possible, lessened to encourage the development of more effective and affordable products with public health uses.
• The public would benefit from increased public health pest research.

Want a Copy?
Are you interested in obtaining a copy of “Public Health Significance of Urban Pests?” NPMA has a limited number of hard copies that are available at $120 plus shipping. NPMA members can order a copy at the discounted price of $75 plus shipping. Since copies are limited, you must send your request by e-mail to npma@pestworld.org.

Pest management professionals also may download the book from NPMA’s Web site at http://www.npmapestworld.org/ftp/WHO-Urban%20Pests.pdf at no charge.

In addition, a summary of the book and its main messages has been prepared by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) in the United Kingdom. This publication can be accessed at http://www.cieh-npap.org/documents/Urban-pests-publichealth-significanceJULY08.pdf or in various languages at www.urbanpestsbook.com.