Molecular Surveillance of West Nile Virus in Mosquitoes and Sentinel Chickens

Arboviral surveillance is a critical step in any effective mosquito control program. Surveillance aids in the early detection of pathogen transmission as well as establishes a baseline of transmission activity. Two of the most practical forms of arboviral surveillance is through the use of testing mosquito pools for the presence of pathogen and screening sentinel chickens for pathogen exposure. This chapter describes the process for each of these methods for West Nile virus.