Mosquito-borne disease & Environmental contaminants

Background

Mosquito-borne viruses continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality around the world. While some, like dengue viruses, have been important for decades, others, like chikungunya and Zika viruses, have emerged as important pathogens as they spread out of their normal ranges. My laboratory uses Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, and La Crosse virus as a model system to investigate how environmental pollutants can affect virus transmission.

Aedes albopictus was introduced into the United States back in the 1980s, and has since become an important day-biting pest mosquito. It is also capable of transmitting a large number of pathogens, which makes it a good organism to study. La Crosse virus can cause a potentially serious, though rarely fatal, encephalitis, usually in children. It is found throughout the eastern United States, and also serves as a relatively safe model organism.