West Nile Virus 2016

Abstract

The Goal of the West Nile Research on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation is to find the presence of the WNV. There are many steps to take in getting some answers. The first step is trapping and identifying the mosquitos that are carriers of the West Nile Virus, the Culex Tarsalis and Culex Pipien. Once the identification is done we move to extract the RNA from the sample mosquitos. We then prepare the RNA samples for the PCR machine to detect the presence or absence of the West Nile Virus. One of the unique things about Lame Deer is we are a “hot spot” for Culex Pipiens which are rare in other parts of the state. About half of every sample of mosquitos we collect is Culex Pipiens.