As mosquito and other insect populations increase during the summer months, so do epidemics of diseases carried by those insects, including the deadly equine encephalitis. But researchers at LSU are working to curb the spread of vector-borne diseases, or diseases transmitted by insects and other organisms.

The Arbovirus Testing Laboratory in the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is participating in state and national efforts to curb vector-borne diseases through disease surveillance and monitoring. The arbovirus surveillance program tests for the presence of viruses that cause encephalitis and is in its second season of testing.

The Arbovirus Testing Laboratory was established as part of the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, which is based at LSU. This affiliation allows the lab to facilitate joint efforts between organizations such as the Office of Public Health Infectious Disease Epidemiology Section and the Division of Laboratories, Tulane University Center for Infectious Diseases, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and parish mosquito-control programs. The collaboration will enhance surveillance activities for West Nile virus (WNV) and other arboviruses that can result in encephalitis carried by insects and arthropods.

Arboviruses are vector-borne diseases, including eastern equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis and other diseases related to WNV. Arboviruses are transmitted from bird to bird and from bird to mammal by mosquitoes. Surveillance activities detect the presence of these viruses with laboratory tests designed for chicken flocks, mosquitoes, and certain dead birds, such as crows and blue jays