A new research initiative at Ohio University may provide answers to how and why certain types of mosquitoes transmit the LaCrosse encephalities virus to humans. A $10,000 grant from the Office of Research at the College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM) is funding the effort, which involves field research and testing in Athens and an educational campaign in Southeastern Ohio.
The LaCrosse encephalitis virus can cause inflammation of the brain. According to project leader William Romoser, OU-COM professor of biomedical sciences, Ohio has the highest incidence rate of the virus in the country.
Romoser, an entomologist who heads up OU's Tropical and Geographical Disease Institute, has b een conducting a survey of mosquitoes in Athens over the past year through the use of light traps - devices that use light and carbon dioxide to attract mosquitoes - and the traditional "biting collection method." The research this year centers on an aggressive vector called the Eastern tree-hole mosquito, which prefers the cavities of trees and discarded tires for its breeding activities.
The projects's educational effort in Southeastern Ohio is aimed at raising awareness about the impor tance of mosquito reduction and tick removal. The effort is a collaboration between several OU disciplines, including public health, communications and biomedical sciences. Romoser says the Ohio Department of Health is interested in the project, which could become a model for other cities and states.
"The educational efforts target children and their parents primarily," Romoser says. "We are promoting simple preventive measures people can take to reduce contact with mosquitoes and there by reduce the chances of contracting this virus, which can be very costly to treat."
In the future, the group will seek to determine how many vectors in a mosquito population actually transmit the virus, Romoser said. The Cuyahoga County health department has provided the OU research group with $4,000 to set up virus testing of mosquitoes in Cleveland.
