One Health Day Community Outreach

The students from the Zoonotic arbo- and respiratory virus research program (ZARV) are planning a community outreach and awareness campaign for West Nile Virus during the month of November. The group uses a One Health approach in their research, focusing on mosquito vectors, animals and humans. For the outreach, the team will be visiting the Highveld Horse Care Unit in Gauteng to donate and administer West Nile Virus vaccines (sponsored by Boehringer-Ingelheim) to all the horses at the center, as well as give informative talks on West Nile virus and the importance of vector control. The team will also have a information stall at the Burlington Showjumping Event, where they will hand out brochures on WNV, as well as DEET-summer spray samples (donated by Vetbrands). To top the outreach off, a One Health Day symposium will be held on 18 November, where the ZARV group will be presenting their research and give feedback on the community outreach.