Mosquito-borne disease control program monitoring to start April 1 in Valley

Justin Strawser, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·2 min read

Mar. 27—The Northumberland County Conservation District will begin monitoring for its Mosquito-borne disease control program on April 1 in Northumberland, Union, Snyder, Columbia and Montour counties.

Madison Erdman, the Mosquito Borne Disease Control Coordinator with the Conservation District, said surveillance is done on all life stages of the mosquito. Larval surveillance will take place from April 1 to Oct. 31 and adult surveillance will take place from April 29 to Oct. 31. They primarily perform surveillance in public and recreational areas throughout the region.

"The goal of our program is to protect the public health of residents in Northumberland, Snyder, Union, Columbia and Monitor counties by collecting field data and eliminating potential vectors of West Nile Virus," said Erdman. "We do this using principles of Integrated Mosquito Management (IMM). Integrated Mosquito Management consists of five different components which are public education, surveillance, larval control, adult control and source reduction."

Larval surveillance is performed using a dipper in standing water where larvae are present. Once larvae are collected, they are sent to the state Department of Environmental Protection Lab in Harrisburg to be identified, said Erdman.

Every week, adult mosquitos are tested by staff at the DEP Lab in Harrisburg for viruses such as West Nile Virus, St. Louis Encephalitis, and Jamestown Canyon Virus as needed, said Erdman.

Adult surveillance is performed using two different traps: the Gravid Trap and BG Sentinel Trap, said Erdman.

The Gravid Trap aims to collect female mosquitos looking for a place to lay their eggs. The genus collected in this trap is usually Culex, which are the mosquitos that carry West Nile Virus, said Erdman.

The BG Sentinel Trap is a host seeking trap that aims to collect biting or nuisance mosquitos. Both traps will run for 24 hours, after being picked up they will be placed on dry ice and sorted, the mosquitos are then sent to a DEP lab in Harrisburg for testing. Trapping locations are chosen based on the human population, history of infectivity, complaints, previous population surveillance history, representation of habitat, and a few other factors, said Erdman.

"The Northumberland County Conservation District Mosquito Program staff will be conducting surveillance throughout these five counties," said Erdman. "This staff consists of a full-time coordinator and technician, there is a possibility of adding another seasonal technician this year as well. The Department of Environmental Protection will be performing the testing."

The conservation district also performs tick surveillance and pathogen testing in all five counties, said Erdman.

"This is done to gain a better understanding of the distribution, density, and peak activity periods of ticks," she said. "The tick program is also funded through the Department of Environmental Protection."

This program is funded through grants from the Department of Environmental Protection, Erdman said.