I-Corps: Translation potential of controlling West Nile virus transmission using medicated bird feed

This I-Corps project is based on the development of medicated bird feed to reduce the transmission of West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne viruses by targeting disease spread within wild bird populations. West Nile virus is the leading cause of domestically acquired mosquito-borne disease in the United States, causing illness in people and contributing to declines in bird populations. Existing mosquito control programs can be costly, difficult to sustain, and increasingly limited by insecticide resistance and other concerns. This technology uses bird feeding stations to deliver medicated feed that prevents infected birds from transmitting the virus to mosquitoes and eliminates mosquitoes that feed on treated birds. This dual-action approach has the potential to reduce disease transmission while complementing existing public health strategies. This technology may provide communities, agricultural operations, parks, and other high-risk settings with a practical, scalable, and cost-effective tool for managing mosquito-borne diseases. This may lead to improved control of mosquitos and other vectors of human and animal diseases. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of a medicated avian feed platform that combines mosquitocidal therapeutics and oral vaccine technologies to interrupt arbovirus transmission cycles. This technology incorporates active pharmaceutical ingredients into bird seed using a proprietary formulation that enhances drug stability and delivery following consumption by wild birds. These formulations include compounds that eliminate mosquitoes after blood feeding on treated birds as well as oral vaccine constructs that reduce avian viremia and subsequent viral transmission to mosquito vectors. Previous research demonstrated safety and efficacy under regulatory oversight and identified key implementation parameters for field deployment. Initial oral vaccine trials also have generated immune responses against critical West Nile virus antigens in birds. This platform may provide a means to control multiple arboviruses, with the potential to improve vector control as well as public and animal health. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.