Surveillance is an essential part of integrated mosquito management. JCVCD monitors mosquito populations throughout Jackson County in order to make informed decisions regarding control measures.
Adult Mosquito Surveillance
Mosquito abundance and species composition are primarily determined by trapping. Some traps are placed at fixed locations year after year and some are strategically relocated. Each week from April-October, JCVCD monitors approximately 50 mosquito traps at fixed locations and places "floater" traps in other areas where we suspect mosquito activity may be occurring. JCVCD primarily uses four types of traps:
Larval Surveillance
Our trained field technicians inspect hundreds of known and potential mosquito sources every year for the presence of larvae. This is done by using standard dipping techniques to look for various stages of immature mosquitoes. If larvae or pupae are found, the technician determines and records the stage of development (instar) and the average number of larvae per dip. A larval sample will often be collected and reared in our lab to determine the exact species. Knowing the relative abundance, stage of development and species of larvae present helps us decide what control measures if any, need to be taken.
Disease Surveillance
JCVCD tests mosquito pools for diseases like West Nile virus and Western equine encephalitis using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Although we collect a variety of mosquito species, our disease surveillance program focuses on mosquitoes from the Culex genus, which are our primary disease vectors.