PW12 Pesticide II
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Wednesday
(PW192) Effects of pesticides on mosquito populations and West Nile virus transmission.
Bradford, Carrie1, Pollard, Robin1, Burns, Teresa1, Marsland, Eric1, Nascarella, Marc1, Anderson, Todd1, Cox, Stephen1, Presley, Steven1, 1 The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA
ABSTRACT- West Nile virus (WNV) first appeared in the United States in the summer of 1999. Since then it has spread rapidly across the nation and continues to be a threat to humans and wildlife. Mosquito surveillance to determine mosquito population dynamics and WNV infection in mosquitoes has been ongoing in Lubbock County, Texas since the summer of 2002. WNV was first detected in Lubbock County in late summer 2002 and continues to appear each summer. In addition to pesticide application by the Lubbock County Health Department to control mosquito populations, the area is also an agricultural community where pesticides are used regularly to control pests of crops. The purpose of this project was to determine associations between the use of pesticides on mosquito populations and in turn, determine any influence on WNV transmission. Insecticide drift from public health and agricultural pesticide application was determined in mosquito trapping areas. Mosquito populations before and after pesticide application were then compared for each study site.
Key words: agriculture, West Nile virus, insecticide, mosquito