The laboratory was fortunate this summer to have the assistance of recent South San Francisco High graduate Nancy Yip. Nancy was one of two high school interns who did a two month internship at the District the previous summer in 2016. She was willing to return this summer to help the laboratory staff with a variety of monitoring and surveillance programs. In particular, Nancy was especially helpful taking care of the District mosquito colony, recording and entering data, and doing DNA extraction for tick testing. She also participated in field activities.
From January to April of 2017, laboratory staff from the San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District collected ticks from 15 different parks and open spaces around the county. Ticks were tested for three different disease-causing bacteria using the districts quantitative PCR machine. Results displayed on the graph are Minimum Infection Rates (MIR). MIR is an estimated percentage of infected ticks that used when ticks are pooled together before testing to save time and cost. The following pathogens were tested for in the 2017 tick-born disease surveill
Laboratory staff conducted three surveys of wild rodents in the months of July and August. The surveys took place in Montara on July 17th and 18th, at Water Dog Lake park in Belmont on August 15th and 16th and Eaton and Big Canyon parks in San Carlos on August 29th and 30th. Blood samples were taken from captured rodents by a subocular bleed with a microcapillary tube and ear punches were also taken from the rodents at Water Dog Lake, Eaton and Big Canyon parks.
Across the world people are battling mosquitoes that have become resistant to the pesticides normally used to control them. But what is insecticide resistance and how does it develop?
