UK Entomologist Delivers Distinguished Lecture on Managing Mosquito-Borne Pandemics

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 4, 2016) — The Zika virus rippled through the Americas in 2016, resulting in a pandemic with catastrophic consequences for women and children. But according to Grayson Brown, a professor of entomology in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Zika wasn’t the first — and won’t be the last —mosquito-borne pathogen to invade the Americas. Public health officials must understand the environmental collision between human dwellings and mosquito habitats, and anticipate emerging mosquito-borne pandemics. An expert in mosquito management systems, Brown will discuss vector-borne pathogens, the transmission cycle, and the catastrophic impact on human populations during a UK College of Public Health Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 11 a.m. The lecture, titled “Zika, Mosquitoes, and Public Health: Relearning History Again,” will take place in MN 363 at the UK Chandler Hospital. The lecture is open to all students interested in public health and entomology. In the past 15 years, five mosquito-borne pandemics have swept through the Americas. Brown will review three pandemics, including the recent Zika outbreak. He will provide insight as to how public health agencies can prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases through improved vector management systems. He will highlight modeling programs, outbreak intervention, vector suppression methods and community participation as opportunities to combat mosquito-borne pathogens. The lecture is hosted by the UK College of Public Health and the UK College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment. Register at https://redcap.uky.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=JRJRKPAC3Y.  MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Adams, elizabethadams@uky.edu