While Auburn's fall sports teams are kicking their seasons into high gear and facing opponents from around the country, two Auburn professors are fighting a more global enemy.
\0x1FThe U.S. Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program has given professor Graeme Lockaby and associate professor Latif Kalin of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences a $240,000 research grant to study connections between urbanization and West Nile virus.
\0x1FThe Auburn research group also includes assistant professor Wayde Morse and postdoctoral fellow Krisztian Magori, a quantitative disease ecologist.
The study is beginning amidst the latest West Nile scare, which has affected thousands and killed dozens nationwide in the last several weeks.
Magori said even those numbers don't allow one to appreciate the full scale of the disease in the U.S. Some studies suggest millions may have been infected since the first outbreaks began appearing in 1999.
\0x1FThe Alabama Department of Public Health is investigating cases of West Nile in the state.
One person in Montgomery County has died. Others have experienced neurological issues and others have had less serious illnesses.
Many specialists say the mild winter last year and lingering heat created prime conditions for the mosquitoes to breed, particularly in areas with dense human populations.
A press release last week by the ADPH said of the 12 confirmed human cases of West Nile virus, nine are male and three are female, and their ages range from 42 to 73. Six are from Montgomery County, three are from Mobile, and Baldwin, Jefferson and Tuscaloosa counties have one case each.
Additional suspected cases are being investigated.
According to the ADPH, approximately one in five people who are infected with West Nile virus will develop symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea or rash. Less than 1 percent will develop a serious neurological illness such as encephalitis or meningitis.
A study in Texas cited by Magori found that some who are infected--albeit a small percentag --may show no problems now, but can deal with long-term health problems for the remainder of their lives.
\0x1FThe "Impact of Forest to Urban Conversion on Human Health" project is part of a joint effort with the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Atlanta's Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Georgia Department of Community Health.
As director of Auburn's Center for Forest Sustainability, Lockaby has studied the effects of urbanization before, previously showing a direct link between a lack of quality water and a high mosquito population.
\0x1FThe team is clear that there are still many unanswered questions about West Nile.
For instance, Magori said in a press release that previous research showed opposing evidence as far as what the ideal conditions for West Nile and other mosquito-carried diseases to thrive are.
"Many of the environmental factors associated with West Nile virus remain unclear," Lockaby said. "What we as a natural resources unit bring to the table is the ability to do a very detailed analysis of the landscape, including aspects that may contribute to risk."
The two are conducting a small study right now while preparing to start the broader initiative, which will focus on discovering the exact water chemistry that breeds West Nile mosquitoes.
"This is about predicting risk," Lockaby said. "We don't want to just say bad water quality probably means more mosquitoes. We want to show a numerical relationship in order to help prevent infection."
Mosquitoes that can spread these viruses to humans breed in urban and suburban as well as rural storm sewers, ditches, waste lagoons and artificial containers around houses.
"We are trying to bring together data sets of water quality and hydrology, land use/land cover changes and occurrences of West Nile virus, to see if there is really a link between urbanization and mosquito-borne diseases, how we can best describe that linkage and what we can do about it," Magori said.
Infection for a human is best treated with early recognition, and quick treatment will significantly lower any risk of severe sickness.
Of the low percentage of people who develop neurological infection from the virus, about 10 percent will die from the disease.
Those older than 50 and people who are already suffering from certain other conditions (cancer, diabetes and kidney disease, among others) are at a higher risk for becoming seriously ill.
"With many people enjoying outdoor activities, it is important that residents take every effort to reduce their exposure to mosquitoes," Dee W. Jones, state public health veterinarian, said through the ADPH. "Keep your mosquito repellent with you at all times when you are working or participating in recreational activities outdoors."
More ADPH information on new infections, updates and prevention is available at adph.org/epi/.
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