Sticky situation

Delaware is among several U.S. states using chickens to detect pathogens that can be transmitted from mosquitoes to people.

These sentinel chickens are stationed in pens around the state in areas where mosquitoes are widespread. Mosquitoes bite the chickens, which develop antibodies to the pathogens West Nile Virus (WNV) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV). That tells scientists these disease-causing agents are present.

The downsides? The chickens are expensive, labor-intensive and take time to yield results.

But a University of Delaware graduate student is testing a different method to monitor for mosquito-borne diseases. He's trapping mosquitoes in the wild, enticing them with honey, and tricking them to give up their saliva, which he's testing for viruses. The method isn't new - it was developed in Australia. If it works in Delaware, it could be a cheaper, more accessible method to ultimately replace sentinel chickens, and could make Delaware a bellwether in U.S. mosquito testing.

Mosquito control innovation

Wil Winter was researching mosquito control and disease detection methods in 2021, when the environmental scientist for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's Mosquito Control Section came across a method with a sweet touch.

He found that scientists in Australia were using small filter paper cards called FTA cards baited with honey. Mosquitoes fed on the honey, and in turn left behind their saliva on the cards. Scientists then extracted RNA from the saliva to test it for viruses.

Winter wondered if this method could be successful in the U.S.

"If it is, it could help other mosquito programs that can't afford or don't have the manpower to do any kind of arbovirus surveillance," Winter said.