Fight the Bite Poster Contest
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www.deetonline.org |
| For Immediate Release | Contact: Edward Tate, 215-504-2035, ed@kroegerpr.com Judi Anderson, 800-789-3300, judia@kroegerpr.com |
Jan. 22, 2009
CDC and Industry Group Announce "Fight the Bite" Poster Contest
Winning Posters from 2008 Available for Educational Us
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the DEET Education Program today announced the deadline of April 3 for their 2009 Fight the Bite Poster Contest, which is open to all fifth and sixth graders in the U.S. The contest encourages students to use art to show the ways they can protect themselves and their families from the diseases spread by mosquitoes, ticks and fleas by using repellent while outdoors.
Two winners from each state—one fifth grader and one in sixth—will receive a $50 U.S. Savings Bond and award certificate. The Grand Prize winners—one from each grade—will receive a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond, a plaque and a trip to Atlanta (airfare and hotel expenses paid) with their parents for the awards presentation at CDC headquarters.
Winning posters from 2007 and 2008, rules, helpful hints, and the entry form are on the contest Web site: www.fightthebitecontest.org.
"The winning posters have been outstanding, both in terms of content and visual creativity," said Emily Zielinski-Gutierrez, DrPH, CDC behavioral scientist and contest creator. "We’re pleased to see so many students understanding the need to protect against mosquito and tick bites."
Susan E. Little, executive director of the DEET Education Program, said that word of the contest is spreading with the help of local and state public health departments.
"Many of the public health professionals we’ve worked with over the years have helped by informing teachers and youngsters in the targeted grades about the contest," Little said. "They see this contest as valuable, because it helps children learn about protecting themselves and their families from insect and tick bites while creating their posters."
Public health and mosquito control professionals are encouraged to use any of the winning posters for educational outreach, public service materials and similar purposes.
Available domestically since 1957, DEET is the world’s most widely used active ingredient for insect repellents. The active ingredients in repellents help prevent insect and tick bites, according to the CDC. Repellents do not kill mosquitoes or ticks.
"DEET has long been the gold standard for effectiveness against mosquitoes, many other insects and ticks, and has been used by consumers with confidence for more than 50 years," Little said. She noted that no other repellent products have been used or studied more extensively than those with DEET. The CDC and other authorities have long recommended DEET-based repellents. The American Academy of Pediatrics says repellents with up to 30 percent DEET can be used on children as young as two months.
More information about diseases from mosquito and tick bites, repellent use and other prevention strategies such as avoiding infested areas and peak feeding periods, wearing clothing that can prevent bites, limiting standing water to reduce mosquitoes and modifying home landscaping to discourage ticks can be found at the CDC Web sites: www.cdc.gov/westnile and www.cdc.gov/lyme.
The DEET Education Program (www.deetonline.org), which operates under the auspices of the Consumer Specialty Products Association, is sponsored by Clariant Corp., McLaughlin Gormley King Co., S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., 3M Company and Vertellus Health and Specialties Inc.
