A new research center devoted to the study of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, biting midges, fleas, lice and ticks has been established at UC Davis. Called the Center for Vector-Borne Diseases, it will focus on ailments such as viral encephalitis, Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, plague, malaria and dengue fever. Vectors are animals that transmit microbial disease-causing agents. "This is one of only a few vector-borne disease research centers in the country," says center co-director Rance LeFebvre, a UC Davis professor of veterinary medicine and an authority on Lyme disease. "By drawing together UC Davis researchers, who for years have been working independently in this area, we plan to build a research center of international significance," he says. Also co-directing the fledgling center is Tom Scott, one of the nation's most distinguished medical entomologists and director of the UC Davis Mosquito Research Laboratory. The center will pay special attention to California problems, but also will address vector-borne diseases that occur in developing countries and tropical areas of the world, in order to develop better global strategies for protecting human health, animal agriculture and foreign trade.