IN-HOUSE TESTING OF MOSQUITO POOLS FOR WEST NILE VIRUS USING COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE IMMUNOASSAY AND REAL-TIME REVERSE-TRANSCRIPTASE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION KITS

Arbovirus surveillance methods are an integral part of integrated mosquito management programs, providing information on arboviral presence, location, and transmission potential. For many vector control agencies, entails collecting species from the field testing representative pools using commercially available immunoassays or real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test kits. In 2016, Collier Mosquito Control District established in-house arbovirus program to screen mosquitoes for a variety diseases, including endemic arbovirus, West Nile virus (WNV). Although guidance interpreting results is provided by manufacturer, end users commercial kits encouraged establish their own cut-off values signifying positive pool. Here we report District’s efforts develop two WNV