Harvey Aftermath: Two UW Students Identify Infectious Bugs

Two U-W Madison students say they’ve found some dangerous mosquitoes in South Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Erin McGlynn of Wisconsin Rapids and Melissa Farquhar of San Jose say they’ve identified bugs capable of carrying the Zika and West Nile viruses — but there have been no disease outbreaks reported in the wake of the storm. McGlynn and Farquhar are spending one week at a mobile lab as temporary employees of the mosquito control firm Clarke, which is a partner in Madison’s new vector borne disease center. Both are training there as part of their study work. They’ve been to Corpus Christi and Houston since last weekend, and they plan to return to Madison Thursday.