Arbovirus Sentinel Chicken Surveillance
Phone:  321.633.2100, option 4

Mosquito activity and their health impact upon the human and animal population over a number of decades has been a concern for the County Health Department.  As a result the Mosquito Control Commission of Brevard County and the Brevard County Health Department have been tasked with establishing and monitoring chicken flocks in strategic locations throughout the county where mosquito activity prevails.  The staff of the county mosquito commission routinely samples the blood of the chicken flock and provides the serum to the state lab for analysis.  If the lab results are positive the health department generates action notices to the public on the cited mosquito activity and recommends implementation of precautionary measures to diminish the exposure to the various types of Encephalitis (West Nile, St. Louis, and Eastern Equine) to human and animal alike.