As the last week of my internship comes to a close, I am very happy with my decision to work here this summer. I came to the Lyme & Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory at the MaineHealth Institute for Research completely unaware of this line of work. I knew that people had to be working with arboviral diseases, but I did not know all of this is done a few towns over from where I live. I truly believe that the behind the scenes work that individuals in this field do is incredible, and positively impacts the communities lives more often then one might think. This is definitely a field that I would love to work in again, and am eagerly awaiting another opportunity! My Last Week As my week went, I spent a majority of my time on once again… mosquito identification. I know that I write about this very often, but it was certainly a highlight of my summer. I have enjoyed progressing in my skill set, as every correct ID is like a little victory. I have come a long way in 10-weeks, developing
On Monday, I heard the news that would shape the rest of my week, West Nile Virus (WNV) found among 6 dead birds. Similar to how I mentioned in previous posts that the Jamestown Canyon Virus (JCV) positive may have been the earliest positive (of year) in Maine history, these WNV positives, reported by the Maine CDC, are the earliest to have been found in birds. These birds were found in 5 different towns across the state and has added a spark to identification efforts this week. The Maine CDC additionally released that a human case is being investigated, but WNV was not likely to have been contracted in Maine as this person had been traveling. Additionally I was tasked with completing a literature review of recent publications for my own education and to add to the labs accessible papers to read. West Nile Virus WNV is an RNA virus that resides in the Flavivirus genus. An infection may develop into West Nile Fever that in most extreme cases can affect the central nervous system as