Speakout Elementary Unit Test 1
Nettie Vitale
As the environmental surveillance program manager at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Casey has tested thousands of mosquito populations all over the state for the presence of two particular diseases: West Nile virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or EEE. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain.
Casey also works with the tick surveillance program, where testing is conducted over two six week periods: one during May and June, and the second during October and November. The remaining months during the summer are devoted to mosquito surveillance. The surveillance ends for the year after the first hard frost.
There are two other types of traps the agency uses. Gravid traps have a small pool of dirty water in the bottom which females are attracted to in hopes of laying eggs. A small fan sucks the mosquitoes into a net for collection. The third type of trap is called a resting box trap. Technicians will place these traps on the ground near wetlands with little overgrowth. After a female mosquito has a blood meal, she will settle to the ground to digest the blood and make eggs. The dark boxes provide a safe and attractive place for the mosquitoes to rest. Every week, a technician will visit the box and use a vacuum and nylon sock to collect mosquitoes inside the box.
The next step is to take the liquid from the mixer, with crushed up pieces of mosquito in it, and place the vials in a different machine which can extract the RNA. Another instrument will heat and cool the vials for about two hours, which allows the RNA to duplicate rapidly.
When the health department labs receive a positive test, they notify the agency of agricuture and the town health officer where mosquitos came from, as well as the public through a press statement.
Mosquitoes can contract West Nile from biting another animal which is already carrying the virus, or vice versa. Casey said these can be different kinds of birds, primarily during the summer months. Reptiles and amphibians can carry the virus through the winter. However, with a changing climate around the world, migratory bird patterns are changing, which directly affects the behavior of mosquitoes.
Increasing temperatures also allow for mosquito larvae to hatch quicker and can change the gestation period from two weeks to one week. While climate change is being blamed for increased temperatures and damaging weather events, it is also being blamed for periods of drought.
Casey said EEE has become her greatest concern. EEE has more serious symptoms and can lead to a painful death for humans, horses and other animals. While a small number of people are infected each year, about 30 percent of them die, while survivors are left with ongoing neurological issues. This year, EEE killed a Massachusetts woman, and positive tests have been found in New York and New Hampshire.
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Please Note: The number of credit hours you see on the print degree screen only reflects the pre-requisite core classes needed to apply to the Generic BSN Program and does not imply an earned BSN degree with those hours.
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