Hundreds of vials filled with mosquitoes line the shelves of a freezer at the Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Baton Rouge. Each vial contains up to 100 mosquitoes sent to the lab from across the state, which are then tested for diseases like West Nile virus.

Mosquito-Borne Disease Prevention

Scientists at the lab can extract information from the mosquitoes’ DNA to help stop the spread of diseases to humans. The Louisiana Arbovirus Surveillance Program helps health professionals and local mosquito control districts stay informed about where diseases are cropping up.

Mosquito control organizations across the state capture mosquitoes and send them to the lab for testing. The lab tests around 25,000 vials of mosquitoes each year, which involves up to 2.5 million individual insects. The testing process involves pureeing the mosquitoes and analyzing the contents using a machine.

Importance of Surveillance

The ability of the lab to quickly turn around test results allows local mosquito abatement efforts to get ahead of mosquito-borne diseases before they spread. With the location of a positive test result pinpointed, abatement crews can take action and the public can take precautions to protect themselves.

Spraying insecticide and applying larvicide are common methods used to control mosquito populations. The majority of West Nile cases reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control occur between June and October, with a steep drop-off when cooler temperatures curb mosquito breeding.

According to Sarah Michaels, a clinical associate professor with Tulane University’s Department of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, surveillance is crucial in identifying where and when diseases are happening, allowing for suppression of mosquito populations before they put more people at risk.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.