Courtesy of Ohio Department of Health. Note the human case of West Nile Virus discovered in Clermont County.
Click for download of PDF –> Summary table – 8 16 17-27u38yo
Diseases/Syndromes
Debug Fresno Aims to Eliminate Aedes Mosquitos
“This summer, scientists in California are releasing 20 million mosquitoes in an effort to shrink the population of mosquitoes that can carry diseases.
It sounds counterintuitive. But the plan is to release millions of sterile male mosquitoes, which will then mate with wild female mosquitoes. The eggs the females lay won’t hatch, researchers say.
The project is called Debug Fresno and it’s being undertaken by Verily, a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s holding company. It’s the company’s first field study involving sterile mosquitoes in the U.S.
Scientists say the goal is to cut the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — the species responsible for spreading Zika, dengue and chikungunya. A. aegypti have been present in California’s Central Valley since 2013 and have been a problem in Fresno County.”
“Each week for 20 weeks, the company plans to release 1 million of the sterile, non-biting male mosquitoes in two neighborhoods in Fresno County. The male mosquitoes are bred and infected with Wolbachia, a bacterium that is “naturally found in at least 40 percent of all insect species,” according to The Scientist magazine, though it’s normally not found in A. aegypti.”
First West Nile Virus Case of 2017 in Human in Ohio
Ohio Arbovirus Report for August 7th, 2017
Courtesy of the Ohio Department of Health
Click Here to print report as PDF –> Summary table – 8 7 17-1002gku
Ohio Arbovirus Report for July 24th, 2017
West Nile Virus has continued to be detected across Ohio with increasing frequency.
Click for printable PDF –> Summary table – 7 24 17-11ppnlr
Ohio Department of Health Mosquito Page
Data courtesy of Ohio Department of Health, used with permission
ZIKA Virus Update July 5th, 2017
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) released the statistics for 2017 YTD:
Cumulative Zika Virus Disease Case Counts in the United States, 2015-2017
Provisional Data as of July 5, 2017
Zika virus disease became a nationally notifiable condition in 2016. Cases are reported to CDC by state, territorial, and local health departments using standard case definitions. This webpage contains cumulative provisional data reported to ArboNET for January 1, 2015 – July 5, 2017.
US States
- 5,365 symptomatic Zika virus disease cases reported*
Powassan Virus Transmission Time
Transmission of Powassan Virus from infected ticks has been found to be much shorter in mice than for other tick vectored diseases.
Abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15381804#
Short report: duration of tick attachment required for transmission of powassan virus by deer ticks.
Abstract
Infected deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) were allowed to attach to naive mice for variable lengths of time to determine the duration of tick attachment required for Powassan (POW) virus transmission to occur. Viral load in engorged larvae detaching from viremic mice and in resulting nymphs was also monitored. Ninety percent of larval ticks acquired POW virus from mice that had been intraperitoneally inoculated with 10(5) plaque-forming units (PFU). Engorged larvae contained approximately 10 PFU. Transstadial transmission efficiency was 22%, resulting in approximately 20% infection in nymphs that had fed as larvae on viremic mice. Titer increased approximately 100-fold during molting. Nymphal deer ticks efficiently transmitted POW virus to naive mice after as few as 15 minutes of attachment, suggesting that unlike Borrelia burgdorferi, Babesia microti, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, no grace period exists between tick attachment and POW virus transmission.
Ohio Arbovirus Update June 19, 2017
Ohio Arbovirus Surveillance Update June 19, 2017
This is the first arbovirus surveillance update of the year, and we have already detected West Nile virus (WNV) activity. Of the 743 pooled mosquito samples tested so far, 3 have tested positive. These were collected in Franklin, Lorain and Summit Counties. This is similar in timing to our first positive samples last year, but we’re also seeing reports of WNV activity in neighboring states that includes an equine case in Kentucky and 2 human cases in Indiana. It is still too early in the surveillance season to predict whether or not this will be a worse than normal year. However, these reports serve as a reminder that WNV infected mosquitoes are active and now is the time to increase your community and public education efforts to include these points:
Animals and Zika
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Zika Virus and AnimalsIn addition to the public health concerns, the spread of Zika Virus raises questions about livestock and companion animals. The current information regarding Zika Virus and animals is available at http://www.cdc.gov/zika/transmission/qa-animals.htmlTo summarize: no evidence has been found regarding animal involvement in the spread of the virus and there have been no reports of sickness in animals. The CDC reports that animals in the US are not at risk of becoming sick with Zika Virus. Microcephaly has not been reported with Zika virus infection in animals living in areas where Zika virus is present; however, more research is needed to better understand Zika virus and microcephaly in animal pregnancy.Full Article Access: Assessing the Global Threat from Zika VirusAuthor credit:Lessler, J., Chaisson, L. H., Kucirka, L. M., Bi, Q., Grantz, K., Salje, H.,…Rodriguez-Barraquer, I. (2016). Assessing the global threat from Zika virus. Science. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1126/science.aaf8160
- Is there a vaccine for Zika Virus?
- A vaccine has not yet been released to the public although their is a clinical trial of a vaccine underway.
- From the National Institutes of Health – The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched a clinical trial of a vaccine candidate intended to prevent Zika virus infection. The early-stage study will evaluate the experimental vaccine’s safety and ability to generate an immune system response in participants.
- Read the full article here —- > NIH ZIKA VACCINE UPDATE
- What is Zika Virus? —–> Link to American Mosquito Control Association
- What about travelling to areas with Zika virus? —> CDC Guidelines for travel to areas endemic with Zika viru
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Top Questions on Zika: Simple Answers(Association of State and Territorial Health Officials)
Florida Keys Approves Trial Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes To Fight Zika
From NPR.org 11/20/2016
In the Florida Keys on Election Day, along with the presidential race, one of the most controversial items on the ballot dealt with Zika. In a nonbinding vote countywide, residents in the Florida Keys approved a measure allowing a British company to begin a trial release of genetically modified mosquitoes. Armed with that approval, local officials voted Saturday to try out what they hope will be a new tool in the fight against Zika.