A new research center devoted to the study of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, biting midges, fleas, lice and ticks has been established at the University of California, Davis. Called the Center for Vector-Borne Diseases, it will focus on developing a better understanding of ailments such as viral encephalitis, Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, plague, malaria and dengue fever. The center combines the expertise of top scientists in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and School of Medicine. Vectors are animals involved in the transmission of microbial disease-causing agents. "This is one of only a few vector-borne disease research centers in the country," said 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 said. Sharing leadership of the new center is co-director Tom Scott, one of the nation's most distinguished medical entomologists and director of the UC Davis Mosquito Research Laboratory. Scott's research focuses on equine encephalitis virus and dengue fever, a viral disease transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. Scott and LeFebvre will serve as co-directors for one year, as participating researchers develop the goals of the new center and launch a search for a permanent director. Approximately 20 UC Davis faculty members have research interests related to vector-borne diseases. The center will recruit additional research scientists and explore collaborative opportunities with scientists at other UC campuses, the California Health Services Department, and state research laboratories, according to LeFebvre and Scott. The Arbovirus Research Unit, a former UC Berkeley group that has conducted research and disease-surveillance for the California Health Services Department, has been transferred to UC Davis as a component of the new center. The unit, which focuses on diseases carried by insects, brings four faculty positions, research equipment and its bank of viral strains and diagnostic chemicals collected over the past 55 years. "The work of the new vector-borne disease center fits into the global effort to combat emerging diseases," said Scott. "Many emerging diseases are caused by pathogens that are out there in the environment. What changes is that people come into contact with them as demographics change or the pathogen expands the area in which it is transmitted. "By studying these disease-transmission systems we hope to develop the understanding necessary to prevent disease in both humans and domestic animals," he said. Although the new center will focus its research activities on solving California problems, it 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. A lab dedicated to research for the center is located on Old Davis Road. A new facility, including Biosafety Level 3 containment laboratories and offices, is planned for construction in three years.