Mosquito community structure and West Nile virus occurrence in mosquitoes in Wood County, Ohio

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are known vectors of a variety of pathogens that cause devastating diseases in humans worldwide. During the past three years (2017 to 2019), the Ohio Department of Health in collaboration with county health departments and with funding from The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, has been involved in a statewide mosquito surveillance and West Nile Virus (WNV) testing program. The purpose of this program is to capture Culex spp., which are known vectors of WNV to humans and horses, and test these mosquitoes for the occurrence of WNV. Mosquito community structure is also being studied, Two hypotheses are being tested: Hypothesis 1: The mosquito community in Wood County, Ohio, is characterized by high species richness over the trapping period (June through August, 2017-2019).  Hypothesis 2: The occurrence of West Nile Virus in Culex spp. collected in Wood County, Ohio, increases during late summer (August and September).  Three mosquito traps were utilized in Wood County, Ohio, to capture mosquitoes: the CDC Miniature Light Trap, a gravid mosquito trap, and a BG Sentinel trap. Mosquitoes were trapped each week from early June until the end of August. Culex spp. samples from June, July, and August of 2017 and 2018 tested positive for WNV, but not samples from 2019.  Over 50% of the trap catches of Culex spp. from August of 2017 and 2018 tested positive for West Nile Virus. Twenty-three mosquito species were identified over trapping period, which reflects a species rich mosquito community in Wood County, Ohio.