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
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@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
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