{"id":378,"date":"2026-05-13T10:45:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378"},"modified":"2026-05-13T10:45:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:45:01","slug":"sarasota-countys-new-mosquito-management-facility-features-first-of-its-kind-malaria-testing-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378","title":{"rendered":"Sarasota County’s new mosquito management facility features first-of-its-kind malaria testing program"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAKOMIS, Fla.<\/strong> – <\/span>Sarasota County commissioners officially cut the ribbon on a state-of-the-art Mosquito Management Services facility near Nakomis off Honore Avenue.<\/p>

Read more Tampa delays controversial street redesign after neighborhood uproar<\/a><\/p>

The backstory:<\/p>

Sarasota County Mosquito Management has fought diseases like Zika, West Nile and malaria.<\/p>

<\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>

The new centrally located building near I-75 replaces their aging buildings off of Clark Road and significantly expands the county\u2019s ability to conduct advanced scientific research and community outreach.<\/p>

“We\u2019ve always been proud of staying on the cutting edge of science; we just didn\u2019t have the facility that allowed us to do as much as this facility will do,” Chuck Henry, Sarasota County health officer, said. “This facility is really going to make a difference for our staff.”<\/p>

Why you should care:<\/p>

In 2023, Sarasota County fought off a rare, localized outbreak of seven malaria cases in the northern part of the county.\u00a0While the department successfully stopped the transmission.\u00a0<\/p>

Sarasota County Mosquito Management Manager Wade Brennan and his team are now implementing a malaria surveillance program that sets a new standard for mosquito control districts.<\/p>

“We will be conducting the first malaria surveillance in the state, if not the nation, for our mosquito control district,” Brennan said. “Those efforts are normally handled by the CDC, and that\u2019s only during outbreak situations when humans are already involved.”<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>

The initiative allows the team to be proactive rather than reactive. Work has already begun on specialized mosquito pool testing.<\/p>

“We are doing malaria mosquito pool testing before we have any type of human transmission,” Brennan said. “We had to develop the actual process in the chemical kits in order to even test for that parasite. It\u2019s not something that is typical anywhere in the United States.”<\/p>

By the numbers:<\/p>

The facility serves as the headquarters for an operation that handles more than 1,700 calls for service annually. Beyond the laboratory, the new building is home to several expanded programs.<\/p>

Read more Map: How much are federal, state gas taxes?<\/a><\/p>

The county has doubled its aquaculture program for mosquito-eating fish, making it the largest in Florida.<\/p>

\u00a0The team maintains 12 flocks of chickens across the county to detect mosquito-borne illnesses before they reach the human population.<\/p>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

The building includes new space dedicated to educational opportunities for local students.<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>

Brennan said the move finally aligns the department\u2019s physical resources with its technical expertise.<\/p>

“We really have this opportunity where our professional capabilities and our scientific capabilities are met with our facility,” Brennan said.<\/p>

Despite the drought, officials warned that the threat of mosquitoes remains. The county is currently focusing on slowing salt marsh mosquitoes near the coast.<\/p>

What you can do:<\/p>

While the county manages the large-scale defense, Brennan reminded residents that they are the first line of defense at home. Residents are encouraged to help by emptying tarps, toys and any other containers in their yards that hold standing water.<\/p>

“No matter what we do, no matter what kind of capabilities we have, we need the help of the public. The biggest thing we have is getting into people\u2019s backyards. They have the containers, toy buckets and kiddie pools and boats that have tarps that produce a lot of mosquitoes,” Brennan said. “Those mosquitoes that those types of habitats produce are the same ones that can potentially transmit dengue, Zika and chikungunya. It\u2019s so important for us to have the public\u2019s help.”<\/p>

Read more USDA issues health alert for headcheese that may be contaminated with listeria<\/a><\/p>

For more information, visit here or call 311 for services.\u00a0<\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarasota County commissioners officially cut the ribbon on a state-of-the-art Mosquito Management Services facility near Nakomis off Honore Avenue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,49,134],"tags":[137,51,136],"class_list":["post-378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-health","category-sarasota-county","tag-environment","tag-health","tag-sarasota-county"],"yoast_head":"\nSarasota County's new mosquito management facility features first-of-its-kind malaria testing program - Tampa moving journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sarasota County's new mosquito management facility features first-of-its-kind malaria testing program - Tampa moving journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sarasota County commissioners officially cut the ribbon on a state-of-the-art Mosquito Management Services facility near Nakomis off Honore Avenue.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tampa moving journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T10:45:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1041a788dc3caf7774ea02b70e7b6c50.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"932\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"524\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\"},\"headline\":\"Sarasota County’s new mosquito management facility features first-of-its-kind malaria testing program\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T10:45:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378\"},\"wordCount\":609,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/f2946903e71a232b182daf88797c2ad3.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Environment\",\"Health\",\"Sarasota County\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Environment\",\"Health\",\"Sarasota County\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378\",\"name\":\"Sarasota County's new mosquito management facility features first-of-its-kind malaria testing program - Tampa moving journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/f2946903e71a232b182daf88797c2ad3.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T10:45:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/f2946903e71a232b182daf88797c2ad3.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/f2946903e71a232b182daf88797c2ad3.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?p=378#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sarasota County’s new mosquito management facility features first-of-its-kind malaria testing program\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tampa moving journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampamovingjournal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sarasota County's new mosquito management facility features first-of-its-kind malaria testing program - Tampa moving journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sarasota County's new mosquito management facility features first-of-its-kind malaria testing program - Tampa moving journal","og_description":"Sarasota County commissioners officially cut the ribbon on a state-of-the-art Mosquito Management Services facility near Nakomis off Honore Avenue.","og_url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378","og_site_name":"Tampa moving journal","article_published_time":"2026-05-13T10:45:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":932,"height":524,"url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1041a788dc3caf7774ea02b70e7b6c50.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a"},"headline":"Sarasota County’s new mosquito management facility features first-of-its-kind malaria testing program","datePublished":"2026-05-13T10:45:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378"},"wordCount":609,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f2946903e71a232b182daf88797c2ad3.webp","keywords":["Environment","Health","Sarasota County"],"articleSection":["Environment","Health","Sarasota County"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378","name":"Sarasota County's new mosquito management facility features first-of-its-kind malaria testing program - Tampa moving journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f2946903e71a232b182daf88797c2ad3.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-13T10:45:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f2946903e71a232b182daf88797c2ad3.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f2946903e71a232b182daf88797c2ad3.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=378#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sarasota County’s new mosquito management facility features first-of-its-kind malaria testing program"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/","name":"Tampa moving journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78095676a3b6259b7b3bc65f6997dc2a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}