Center for Vector Biology & Zoonotic Diseases (CVBZD)

The Center for Vector Biology & Zoonotic Diseases was formed in 2009 as a combined effort between the Departments of Entomology and Environmental Sciences. It formally brings together the research, surveillance and diagnostic activities of our staff on arthropods of public health and veterinary importance and the infectious disease organisms they transmit in Connecticut and the northeastern United States. The mission of the Center is to advance our knowledge of the epidemiology and ecology of vector borne disease organisms and to develop methods and more effective strategies for their surveillance and control.

Current research and projects at the CVBZD include:

• the biology and control of mosquitoes, ticks and bedbugs

• the epidemiology and ecology of a variety of mosquito- and tick-associated diseases of the region such as:
  • eastern equine encephalitis
  • human babesiosis
  • ehrlichiosis
  • granulocytic anaplasmosis
  • Lyme disease
  • West Nile virus
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• the state-wide Mosquito and Arbovirus Surveillance Program for eastern equine encephalitis and West Nile viruses

• testing of ticks for the Lyme disease agent

The Center maintains several laboratories, insectaries and a Biosafety Level 3 containment facility at the main campus in New Haven. Additional facilities are located at the Station’s 75-acre research farm, Lockwood Farm in Hamden and at the Griswold Research Center in Griswold.

Core funding for the Center is provided from the State of Connecticut and federal Hatch funds administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. Research and surveillance activities are additionally supported by grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USDA Agricultural Research Service, and Northeastern Mosquito Control Association.

The Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (NEVBD)
neregionalvectorcenter.com

January 10, 2017--The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Receives Major Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for Establishment of a “Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases” in partnership with Cornell University, Columbia University, and the New York State Department of Health

Mosquito Arbovirus Research and Surveillance Program Description