eprintid: 31356 rev_number: 37 userid: 6640 dir: disk0/00/03/13/56 datestamp: 2017-07-28 17:57:24 lastmod: 2021-03-11 05:55:48 status_changed: 2017-07-28 17:57:24 type: thesis succeeds: 31148 metadata_visibility: show contact_email: joellowery81@yahoo.com item_issues_id: duplicate_title_31148 item_issues_type: duplicate_title item_issues_description: Duplicate title to Lowery, Joel (2017) West Nile Surveillance in Allegheny County. Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh. item_issues_timestamp: 2017-04-09 06:01:54 item_issues_status: autoresolved item_issues_count: 0 eprint_status: archive creators_name: Lowery, Joel creators_email: jol74@pitt.edu creators_id: JOL74 contributors_type: committee_chair contributors_type: committee_member contributors_type: committee_member contributors_name: Martinson, Jeremy contributors_name: Mertz, Kristen contributors_name: Lamonte, Leah contributors_email: jmartins@pitt.edu contributors_email: Kristen.Mertz@AlleghenyCounty.US contributors_email: Leah.Lamonte@AlleghenyCounty.US title: West Nile virus surveillance in Allegheny County in 2016 ispublished: unpub divisions: sch_gsph_infectiousdiseasesmicrobiology full_text_status: public abstract: Beginning with an outbreak of encephalitis in New York residents in the August of 1999, West Nile Virus has spread across the United States. Its primary vectors in Allegheny County are mosquitoes of the species Culex pipiens. Allegheny County implements the West Nile Virus Control Program, which is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. This program uses vector index, a useful indicator for the risk of human West Nile Virus disease, to inform decisions on the control of mosquito populations. The purpose of this project was to describe mosquito surveillance of West Nile Virus vectors in Allegheny County in 2016. Analysis of data from 2016 and previous years was performed to provide insight on the use of vector index to inform decisions on control measures. A total of 457 mosquito pools were processed between May and September of 2016, of which 29% tested positive for West Nile Virus. This indicated that West Nile Virus remains endemic to Allegheny County. The vector index did not consistently increase until the months of July and August, which is a pattern typical of each year. Historically, inconsistent data collection made it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions on the distribution of West Nile Virus. Due to the human population density in the greater Pittsburgh area and the proximity of an abundance of favorable mosquito habitats such as catch basins in the city, West Nile Virus remains a significant public health concern. date: 2017-04-18 date_type: submitted publisher: University of Pittsburgh institution: University of Pittsburgh refereed: TRUE thesis_type: masteressay degree: MPH citation: Lowery, Joel (2017) West Nile virus surveillance in Allegheny County in 2016. Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh. document_url: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/31356/1/LoweryJ_MPHessay_april_2017.doc document_url: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/31356/3/licence.txt