8/27/02

Bob Lowry, 334/844-9999

AUBURN UNIVERSITY WILL HOST PUBLIC FORUM ON WEST NILE VIRUS

AUBURN -- Auburn University will host on Sept. 5 a two-hour public forum on West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne virus that has rapidly spread across the United States.

The forum will begin at 7 p.m., at the AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center Auditorium.

Gary Mullen, an AU professor of entomology, says the forum is being sponsored by the AU College of Agriculture, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Lee County Department of Health and the cities of Auburn and Opelika.

West Nile virus causes ailments ranging from mild flu-like symptoms to a fatal inflammation of the spinal cord and brain. It typically affects horses, humans and a wide range of bird species, though other mammals also have been documented with the virus.

The virus is spread by female mosquitoes that contract the virus after feeding on the blood of an infected bird. Ten days to two weeks after taking a blood meal from an infected host, the virus can then be transmitted to other birds and mammals.

Mullen, who has been monitoring West Nile virus in Alabama's mosquito population since it was first reported in the United States in 1999, has been assisting local community and state officials in planning for mosquito control.

Six people have been infected by the virus in Alabama, but no deaths have been reported, according to state health officials.

Mullen said he is concerned about the early outbreak of West Nile and the high rate of infection in the mosquito samples that have been collected. His tests indicate that one in 50 mosquitoes is carrying the virus at some locations in the state, including the city of Auburn and the AU campus.

AU has stepped up its control of mosquitoes in areas where they breed, and the city of Auburn has undertaken a citywide spraying program to kill adult mosquitoes.

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