West Nile virus was first detected in New York City and in the Western Hemisphere - in the late summer of 1999. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection initiated a statewide surveillance program for West Nile virus in April, 2000. The surveillance program in Lancaster County involves larval and adult mosquito sampling from in or around permanent marshes, temporary ponds, catch basins, sewage treatment plants, tire piles, rock pools and many types of artificial containers. Larval sampling was conducted with mosquito dippers whereas adults were collected with carbon dioxide traps, gravid traps, fiber pots and aspirators. To date, 12 species of mosquitoes have been identified from Lancaster County. Ochlerotatus albopictus was first recorded in the county this summer. During the 2000 and first half of the 2001 field season, there have not been any positive isolations for WNV for Lancaster County.
Keywords: mosquitoes, arbovirus
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA