As the cooler northern regions of Arizona begin to experience temperature increases and extreme weather patterns due to anthropogenic climate change, the habitats of the vectors and reservoir hosts of disease will experience disruption, leading to changes in their distributions. This shift/expansion of vector distribution will impact the spread of vector-borne diseases, such as West Nile Virus, within the human population of Coconino County. Currently, we are collaborating with experts from multiple disciplines to enhance mosquito surveillance in Coconino County and collect data on human population and climate dynamics. This data will help build a modeling system to predict the effects that climate change will have on the spread of vector-borne diseases in northern Arizona. Collaborators include specialists from the University of Arizona Department of Entomology and Mel and Enid Zuckerman School of Public Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Coconino County Health and Human Services.

Mosquitos of the genus Culex are being collected weekly via active trapping, followed by speciation and antibody testing for West Nile Virus.