Simultaneous Dengue Virus 1-4 Testing

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

The County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health Vector Control Program (Vector Control) first detected invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in San Diego County in 2014. Because these invasive mosquitoes can potentially transmit tropical mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, Vector Control established regionwide trapping and laboratory testing of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes for four types of dengue virus (DENV1-4). At the time, there were neither commercially available mosquito dengue tests available in the United States nor publications containing methods for detecting all four types of dengue viruses in mosquitoes in a single test. Each dengue virus required its own test, which was costly and lengthened the time it took to get results. To improve efficiency and contain costs, Vector Control staff developed and implemented a new testing method in 2016 that could analyze mosquito samples for all four dengue types in one test. Using control standards provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the new DENV1-4 test was proven to perform as well as the single individual virus tests. This process improvement saved staff time and overall costs, obtained results faster, and enhanced the ability of the Vector Control to protect public health through early detection.