IU junior August Nelson, a student of IU Southeast biologist Claude Baker, has regional certification to conduct tests on mosquitoes that might be carrying West Nile disease or St. Louis encephalitis. Baker’s students caused a buzz on campus this spring with a service learning project

But they also captured a lot of local media attention.

Television reporters and photographers from WAVE-3, WDRB-41, and WLKY-32 came to the New Albany campus to report that two samples tested positive for West Nile virus. WAVE featured the story on five separate broadcasts on July 29-July 30. WDRB ran six stories over a three-day period. WLKY aired it once and WHAS mentioned it on its noon news on July 30.

Local newspapers The (Louisville) Courier-Journal, The (Jeffersonville) Evening News and The (New Albany) Tribune also published stories about the testing. And last month, Baker and junior August Nelson addressed the mosquito problem as guests on the WFPL radio call-in program State of Affairs.

The IUS mosquito-testing program was conducted in collaboration with the Clark, Floyd and Harrison counties’ departments of Health to avert the risk of West Nile in the local area.

Nelson is the only one in Southern Indiana certified to conduct the test on mosquitoes for West Nile and St. Louis encephalitis.

Seventy-five biology students set up netted traps at likely breeding sites throughout the three counties. Nelson spent up to 10 hours a day sorting the mosquitoes by species, then testing some and sending the rest to the Indiana Department of Health’s lab.

Birds, especially blue jays and crows, serve as hosts for the virus, which mosquitoes spread to other birds. Infected mosquitoes also can spread the disease to mammals, including horses and humans.

“We needed to find a better way to monitor the advancement of the disease,” said Dan Ellnor, an IU Southeast biology alumnus who is an environmental health specialist for Floyd County. Ellnor and Doug Bentfield, also an IUS biology alumnus and an environmental health specialist for Clark County, contacted Baker to see how he could assist the two agencies.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, human contraction of the West Nile Virus is rare. Those who do become infected will exhibit few or no symptoms. However, if a case of West Nile does progress into encephalitis, the result can be fatal.

That’s why Baker said he believes the work his students are doing is important and will help control the spread of West Nile. “This is a very worthwhile service learning project,” Baker said.

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