WHTC : declared in Kalamazoo gets grant to watch for Zika virus

Currently the northern range of the particular mosquito that transmits Zika and other diseases is in Indiana and Ohio, but global warming could make it possible for the speicies to move further north. Kalamazoo County Health Director Jim Rutherford said his $20,000 grant will make it possible to buy some equipment and hire an intern to empty traps, and identify the skeeters. by John McNeillKALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) -- Even though the Zika Virus has not appeared north of Florida and Texas, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has offered grants to 11 Michigan counties to be on the lookout for the mosquito that transmits the disease. If they find a member of the Aedes mosquito family, he says they will bagged and tagged and shipped off to a state lab for testing to determine if it is carrying the virus. Rutherford said they will also spend some of the money on an education program, that could also include information about EEE and West Nile, which are two mosquito bourne diseases that are transmitted here by mosquito.

Zika test comes back positive for virus

Health officials in Carteret County now say a case of Zika virus happened in the county last fall. The Carteret County Health Department says the resident had traveled outside of the country where they contracted the virus. Health officials say there is no elevated concern for the spread of Zika in the county at this time. The virus is spread by mosquito bites and the county says they test one or two people a month for the illness. The positive case came back in October, but was just recently made public.


"It is the property of our electrode before the detection of Zika virus and it is after the Zika virus detection," Purdue University Ph.D. candidate, Seonah Jin said. - Purdue university researchers have made a major advancement in detecting the mosquito borne diseases like the Zika virus. This technology can detect the presence of mosquito borne illnesses like the Zika or West Nile virus within 30 minutes. The team is trying to secure funding to create the condensed version of the technology that would allow people to even test themselves for mosquito borne illnesses. The next step is to take the findings from the lab to the public to get results cheaper and faster.


collected by :Lucy William
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