WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Hoosiers should be extra vigilant this year to avoid mosquito bites because itching and scratching season likely will begin early due to June’s massive flooding, according to Purdue University experts.

The heavy rains that hit Indiana the first 10 days of June will leave numerous areas of standing water, the breeding ground for mosquitoes, said Ralph Williams, a public health entomologist in the Department of Entomology. Initially, this will result in an influx of nuisance mosquitoes that don’t transmit disease to people, but can carry canine heartworm to dogs

“As floodwaters recede, pockets of water may linger where mosquitoes can lay their eggs,” Williams said. “With the earlier chance for the mosquitoes to breed, it’s especially important to take precautions that will help keep the mosquitoes from spreading a disease to you.”

As the water stands longer and becomes stagnant, it will become a harbor for other mosquitoes, including the type that carries West Nile virus, which potentially can be fatal to humans and horses.

The high probability of an early emergence of the Culex mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus means horse owners should ensure their animals are vaccinated against the disease and other mosquito-borne encephalitic illnesses, said William Hope of the Purdue community equine clinic.

“It looks like it will be a big mosquito season, so horses will have more of a chance to contract these diseases,” he said. “Horses should be vaccinated now, if they haven’t been already, and then receive a second shot in the fall.”

The vaccine is effective for horses, but no vaccine has been developed to protect people or other animals against West Nile virus and related diseases. Other animals, including dogs and cats, can be infected, but it’s rare for them to develop the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Culex mosquitoes usually are most active in Indiana from mid-August through the fall. However, the Indiana State Department of Health already this year has found the virus in some mosquitoes.

Among diseases that mosquitoes spread are West Nile virus, malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, and Eastern and Western encephalitis. West Nile virus, and occasionally Eastern and Western equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, and La Crosse fever, appear in Indiana. People and some other mammals can contract all of these diseases, but horses don’t contract St. Louis encephalitis or La Crosse fever.

Mosquitoes spread West Nile virus when they bite an infected bird and then bite a person, horse or some other mammal. Although a mosquito may bite an infected mammal, no evidence exists that the diseases can be spread to another mammal, or directly between mammals. This is because, unlike birds, there is not a high enough concentration of the virus in other animals to allow for transmission.

Of the more than 3,000 known mosquito species, Indiana is home to more than 50. Their life cycle is seven to 10 days, and they all breed in standing water.

Williams and Hope recommend that people and animals avoid mosquito-infested areas as much as possible, especially during dusk and dawn, which are prime biting times for the insects. People should use insect repellents containing DEET and picaradin, Williams said.

Insecticides are available to spray on horses and around horse areas.

In addition, the experts recommend these precautions:

• Dispose of, empty and/or clean livestock watering troughs, ditches, puddles, birdbaths, rain gutters, buckets, old tires, ponds and swimming pools so mosquitoes can’t breed.
• Make sure the mosquito repellent you use is registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and check that the concentration is approved for use on children.
• Don’t use human anti-insect products on animals; those repellents could sicken an animal. Special repellents are available for horses, but not for dogs and cats.
• Wear light-colored clothing, long-sleeve shirts, long pants, socks and hats when outside.
• Cover horses with light-colored, lightweight or netted sheets to help keep insects away.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — A federal award to fund the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute validates Indiana’s position as a biomedical research leader, and citizens across Indiana and beyond will benefit, say Hoosier life sciences leaders.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year grant of $25 million to the IU School of Medicine to fund Indiana CTSI activities at Indiana and Purdue Universities. The NIH created the clinical and translational awards program as a high priority effort to improve the process by which the laboratory discoveries of basic science are transformed into new medical treatments and products – a process called translational research.

Officials at the NIH said the Indiana CTSI is one of the most broadly collaborative of the more than two dozen such programs it has funded to date, with community partners including Clarian Health, Eli Lilly and Co., BioCrossroads, Cook Group, Roche, Wellpoint, the Indiana Economic Development Corp., the Indiana Department of Health and the Marion County Health Department.

“The institute harnesses all of Indiana’s major life sciences research centers into a commonly focused enterprise that will give Indiana’s research scientists many new advantages in finding ways to do their work more effectively and efficiently,” said IU President Michael A. McRobbie. “Over the long term, this will have an enormously positive impact on the state and will make laboratories at both IU and Purdue far more competitive for the major research awards of the future.”

“This partnership creates the only national clinical and translational sciences institute that’s a statewide research laboratory, and the National Institutes of Health acknowledged that,” said France A. Córdova, president of Purdue. “This unique structure means Purdue and Indiana university researchers can address the human health needs of the entire state, especially those in our more rural communities.”

One key to the success of the Indiana CTSI will be its ability to go beyond translating scientific discoveries to treatments and standard health care practices, said Anantha Shekhar, M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at IU School of Medicine and IU assistant vice president for life sciences, who has been named director of the Indiana CTSI.

“We will build systems that facilitate all levels of research and provide community feedback to researchers. This will enable the researchers to improve and refine the conduct of their science and improve care of their patients. We call it the “translational circle,’ ” Dr. Shekhar said.

Connie Weaver, Ph.D., head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition at Purdue, has been named deputy director of the CTSI at Purdue. Bennett Bertenthal, Ph.D., dean of the IU College of Arts and Sciences, has been named deputy director for the IU Bloomington campus.

D. Craig Brater, M.D., vice president for life sciences of IU and dean of the IU School of Medicine, noted that the institute represents the future of biomedical research.

“The health issues facing us are enormous, the science is complex, and resources must be used carefully. Just as the emphasis on translational science is of vital importance, so are broad-based partnerships and collaborations keys to our success in Indiana. Both are epitomized by the CTSI,” Dr. Brater said.

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