Lab Matters Spring 2018 | Page 19

from the bench results, sometimes conducting additional mosquito treatments. But with the new equipment, the Louisville lab could implement CDC-published TaqMan assays with multiple primer/probe sets, increasing the specificity of PCR testing. The change means the lab now has the ability to confirm its test results and provide extra assurances that a result isn’t a false-positive. Wolf said that assurance helps the agency direct its limited resources and time in the most effective way possible. “It’s an extra layer of confidence that we’re providing the best results we can,” she said. The Louisville lab—like its fellow public health labs across the country—is getting ready for its third summer of Zika testing. According to CDC, more than 5,600 cases of symptomatic Zika have been reported in the US between January 2015 and March 2018, 12 this year so far and the PublicHealthLabs @APHL majority among travelers returning from affected countries. More than 37,000 Zika cases have been reported in US territories since 2015. Fortunately, Zika numbers have plummeted in the US and globally, but the threat of mosquito-borne disease and the need for robust public health surveillance remains. According to APHL, federal dollars that support arbovirus surveillance declined 61 percent from 2004 to 2012, which is the same year the US experienced its highest incidence of West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease and West Nile-related mortality. And research shows improvements in vector control are needed: A 2017 survey on mosquito control capacity conducted by the National Association of County & City Health Officials found that 84% of the more than 1,000 vector-control organizations surveyed—most within local health departments—are in need of improvement in at least one core competency area. APHL.org In Kentucky, according to Wolf, the Louisville public health lab is one of three labs in the state that tests mosquitoes for Zika as part of public surveillance efforts. The other labs are associated with a university (serving eastern Kentucky) and a university-based veterinary laboratory (serving western Kentucky). She noted that part of the funding for the lab’s recent mosquito testing improvements came via CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) cooperative agreement, which now receives about half its funding from the Affordable Care Act’s Prevention and Public Health Fund. “We don’t know what’s coming next and we need to be ready for it,” Wolf said on the threat of mosquito-borne disease. “Having these systems in place lets you get up to speed so much more quickly.” n Spring 2018 LAB MATTERS 17