The Cambria County Vector Control office is  responsible for managing all vector-borne disease   programs for Cambria and Indiana counties. Currently, Vector Control manages and operates the Pennsylvania Mosquito Disease Control and Tick Surveillance programs under the guidance of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Vector Management division.

West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease that can cause encephalitis, a brain inflammation. West Nile virus was first detected in North America in 1999 in New York, and in Pennsylvania in 2000. Prior to that, it had only been found in Africa, Eastern Europe and West Asia.

In 2000, West Nile virus appeared for the first time in Pennsylvania in birds, mosquitoes and a horse. To combat the spread of West Nile virus as well as other emerging mosquito-borne diseases, Pennsylvania has developed a comprehensive program. This program currently covers 42 counties, includes trapping mosquitoes, monitoring horses and evaluating the risk to humans.

The Tick Surveillance Program is responsible for conducting active tick surveillance to determine the distribution, prevalence, and expansion of tick populations in Cambria and Indiana County.  The ticks are then tested for pathogens that can impact human health. The pathogen list includes: Borrelia burgdorferi (causative agent of Lyme Disease), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (causative agent of Anaplasmosis), Babesia microti (causative agent of Babesiosis), Deer Tick Virus (Powassan Virus Lineage II), Borrelia miyamotoi (causative agent of Hard Tick Relapsing Fever), and Borrelia mayonii (causative agent of Lyme Disease).

For more information, please contact the office or email:  mvibostok@co.cambria.pa.us