Source: RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY submitted to NRP
TESTING THE EFFICACY OF THE CDC AUTOCIDAL GRAVID OVITRAP AGAINST AEDES ALBOPICTUS IN NEW JERSEY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1011213
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Oct 1, 2016
Project End Date
Dec 11, 2017
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
3 RUTGERS PLZA
NEW BRUNSWICK,NJ 08901-8559
Performing Department
Plant Biology
Non Technical Summary
Zika is an arbovirus that has emerged recently in the Western Hemisphere with significant medical sequelae including microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Humans may act as hosts, thus infected travelers could introduce virus into previously uninfected areas. Aedes albopictus, also known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is a potential vector of this flavivirus and is present throughout New Jersey.Currently, the gold standard for assessing the population of Ae. albopictus is the Biogents Sentinel (BGS) trap, which also may control population levels when used over a period of time and with enough numbers. However, this trap is not inexpensive and can be difficult to obtain when under the current conditions of high demand. The CDC Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap (AGO) is an inexpensive alternative to the BGS trap that county agencies can easily construct and deploy.This experiment will assess the efficacy of the AGO to manage Ae, albopictus populations in New Jersey with trap performance compared to the BGS trap.Zika virus has become a serious risk to people living in areas whereAe. albopictusis present. We hope to devleop and demonstrate alow cost yet effective method for monitoring Aedes albopictus which would develop a frontline surveillance system for detecting the Zika carrying insects.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
72231991130100%
Knowledge Area
722 - Zoonotic Diseases and Parasites Affecting Humans;

Subject Of Investigation
3199 - Invertebrates, general/other;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology;
Goals / Objectives
The aim of this research is to be able to provide state and local governments with a low cost yet effective method for monitoring Aedes albopictus which would develop a frontline surveillance system for detecting the Zika-causing insects.
Project Methods
Demonstration mosquito traps will be implemented in two to three county field sites (likely Hunterdon, Mercer and Warren).Then, workshops will be held with all 21 county mosquito control agencies to train staff on how to construct the CDC AGO traps. The counties will be encouraged to deploy the traps for Aedes albopictus surveillance through RT-PCR testing at the New Jersey Public Health Environmental Laboratories (PHEL). This includes Chikungunya, Dengue (1-4 serotypes) and West Nile virus. Zika is currently being standardized for testing at PHEL and will be included in the suite of tests when available and will be available for use under enhanced level of surveillance (Level 2) according to the Interim Zika virus concept of operations plan (NJDOH PHEL, version 1.4.5, 2016). The adult population sampled by the counties will be reported in the Adult Mosquito Surveillance program reports. The standard arbovirus results will be reported in the Arbovirus Surveillance reports and if the Enhanced Level 2 is reached, Zika results will also be included.Finally, the results of the data analysis will be presented at releveant mosquito control meetings in New Jersey.

Progress 10/01/16 to 12/11/17

Outputs
Target Audience:State agencies, the general public Changes/Problems:This project is being ended early as Dr. Dina Fonseca has taken a position heading up Rutgers' Center for Vector Biology and will be assuming responsibility for these studies as well as the connected State of New Jersey grants What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We had two undergrads and one graduate student who were involved in the training effort. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We shared our results of the low cost Zika trap versus a high cost Zika trap at an honors symposium to Rutgers students and we reported the findings as part of our report to the New Jersey State Mosquito Control Commission. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We had a protocol in place for the testing; we performed a series of lab experiments with rearing and trapping mosquitoes in two different trapping systems. We did do a trap building and comparison study in the lab here for mosquito trapping and a high cost versus a low cost trapping system. Our trap study showed that we can construct an inexpensive trap that is as effective as the expensive one and that local governments can use them for mosquito control and disease pressure. We had also begun to establish a project outreach with women who utilize the FQHC in the Port Elizabeth area in Union County. We are also working with the State Mosquito Control Commission and the State NJDEP and State NJDOH for outreach. However, we were unsuccessful with the recruitment for the women in Port Elizabeth.

Publications