West Nile virus risk project results to be revealed at public meeting
The DuPage County Health Department will host a public meeting on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014 from 1 to 1:45 p.m. to provide research results regarding West Nile virus risk in DuPage County and the model developed to improve the health risk assessment process.
A research group from the University of Illinois (U of I), Urbana worked with the DuPage County Health Department, the Wheaton Mosquito Abatement District and the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County to develop a model of West Nile virus risk in DuPage County with the hope of improving public health decisions.
To create the model the research team used data about West Nile mosquito infection reported in past years from mosquito testing in the County and compared it to weather conditions. Using a statistical analysis the research team determined the kind of weather that precedes higher mosquito infection rates. This work resulted in a statistical model that helps the county to predict the expected future mosquito infection based on the current weather patterns.
The research based approach will provide Health Department officials with advanced notice of the future risk of West Nile virus illness. By knowing the estimated mosquito infection rate based on the weather model, the County can assess the risk of human illness 1 to 2 weeks earlier than it could without the model. In addition, this project has resulted in several new ways to visualize the risk of illness from West Nile virus in a consistent historical context, making more information available to improve public health decisions.
The U of I team also developed a map of 42 different entities that carry out mosquito control in the County and interviewed personnel in 34 of those organizations about their perceptions and practices related to mosquito control and risk of West Nile virus. These interviews revealed a range of views related to the factors related to increased risk of West Nile virus and mosquito control.
DuPage County Health Department's Executive Director, Karen Ayala said, "Understanding the various perspectives of the different entities involved in mosquito abatement will help the County to improve its public health messages and provide additional information to better coordinate and collaborate across the County on this important health topic."
After the public meeting the DuPage County Health Department will conduct a training class to provide information to a smaller group from various County agencies to better implement the model for future decision-making.
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