The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO), in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), has expanded its mosquito surveillance efforts across the reservation to monitor and mitigate the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses— including West Nile Virus (WNV) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV). Mosquitoes in Bryan, Le-Flore, and Coal counties tested positive for WNV as of early August.
The initiative builds on groundwork laid in 2024, with enhanced support this year from CDC field experts and entomologists. Their visit focused on helping identify optimal trap sites and to improve specimen collection procedures throughout the Choctaw Nation’s reservation.
Choctaw Nation Environmental Protection Services and public health teams place mosquito traps across tribal lands and collect specimens weekly. These are shipped to CDC labs for species identification and viral testing. While there’s no set minimum for triggering alerts, any positive mosquito pool result prompts a public health advisory to alert and protect the community.
