UF-led $3.5 million grant expands arbovirus surveillance

A new $3.5 million NIH grant is backing University of Florida-led work to strengthen arbovirus surveillance before outbreaks reach the U.S. According to University of Florida materials and Rhoel Dinglasan’s CV, the five-year award, U19AI181594, runs from April 24, 2024, through March 31, 2029, and supports a project called VirCapSeq-ONT. The effort is designed to detect and track arboviruses using arthropod xenosurveillance, with Dinglasan as principal investigator and Christian Happi and Charles Wondji as multi-principal investigators. UF framed the strategy around earlier detection abroad, with Dinglasan arguing that surveillance “works” and should happen “before it comes home.” (idi.vetmed.ufl.edu)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is another sign that arbovirus surveillance is moving further upstream and becoming more explicitly One Health in design. Florida already maintains public health surveillance for mosquito-borne viruses of concern, and veterinary medicine has long been part of that ecosystem because animals can serve as sentinels for transmission risk. Better field detection of mosquito-borne pathogens could improve preparedness for diseases that affect horses, livestock, wildlife, and people, while also helping clinicians and diagnostic labs spot unusual patterns sooner. (floridahealth.gov)

What to watch: Watch for published protocol details, field results from partner sites, and signs that the platform begins feeding earlier warnings into veterinary and public health response systems. (idi.vetmed.ufl.edu)