For Immediate Release:
May 22, 2009

Contact:
Kit Wagar
Office of Public Information
573-751-6062

Missouri Student Wins 2009 National Grand Prize in the “Fight the Bite” Poster Contest

For the second straight year, a fifth-grader at Disney Elementary in Springfield, Mo., has won the national “Fight the Bite” poster contest.

The annual contest, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the DEET Education Program, encourages fifth- and sixth-grade students to create posters that make people more aware of ways to protect against mosquito and tick bites and the diseases they can cause.

Meghan Zengel, 11, of Springfield won the top national honors for the fifth-grade Grand Prize and was honored during a ceremony at the CDC’s Atlanta headquarters. Zengel received a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond.

“Having a national winner two years in a row shows Missouri has really talented students,” said Margaret Donnelly, director of the Department of Health and Senior Services. “The poster contest is a great way for children to use their creativity and artistic skills to educate parents and other children about using insect repellent to protect themselves from mosquitoes and ticks.”

First place winners in the state competition include Amber Eisterhold, a fifth-grade student at Sacred Heart School in Rich Fountain, and Nicole Smart, a sixth-grade student at Cabool Middle School in Cabool. State winners received a $50 savings bond and a certificate. 

“Teachers and health educators are encouraged to incorporate into their curriculum information about protection against tick and mosquito bites and the diseases they carry,” Donnelly said. “The poster contest can be a fun part of their lesson plan.”

Judges included representatives from the CDC, the DEET Education Program and the National Association of City and County Health Officials. 

For more information about diseases from mosquito and tick bites, repellent use and other prevention strategies, visit the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Web site at  www.dhss.mo.gov/TicksCarryDisease/, www.dhss.mo.gov/WestNileVirus/. The sites have information about limiting standing water to reduce mosquitoes and landscape modification to discourage ticks. Additional information is also available at the CDC’s Web site at www.cdc.gov/ticks/prevention.html and www.cdc.gov/westnile.

NOTE:  For a downloadable image of the winning poster, visit www.dhss.mo.gov/NewsAndPublicNotices/2009/FighttheBiteContestWinner.html.