Media Advisory: Media Invited to Participate in West Nile Virus Overwintering Study Feb. 19

WHAT:          

Media professionals are invited to join Colorado State University Arthropod-borne and Infectious Disease Laboratory scientists as they overview and conduct a portion of their West Nile virus overwintering study.

To better understand the West Nile virus transmission cycle, AIDL experts are investigating overwintering populations of mosquitoes to determine where mosquitoes hibernate and if certain species are capable of harboring the virus over the winter months.

The opportunity is being offered as a response to strong media interest in the project and is the only date this season that participation in the overwintering study is available for media.

WHEN/WHERE:      

9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Feb. 19, beginning and ending at the Arthropod-borne and Infectious Disease Laboratory on the Foothills Campus at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. The group will leave campus and visit two or three mosquito collection sites in or near Fort Collins before returning to the laboratory. Transportation will be provided from AIDL to the collection site locations.

RESERVATIONS:

To accommodate participating media professionals, those who want to attend must reserve a place by calling Brad Bohlander at (970) 491-1545 by 3 p.m. on Feb. 18.

DETAILS:     

The Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory encompasses 30 scientists who conduct world-renowned research on the prevention, diagnosis and control of mosquito-borne diseases including West Nile virus, encephalitis, yellow fever, dengue, hantaviruses, parasitic diseases and Lyme disease. AIDL researchers work in conjunction with local laboratories of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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