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Sentinel Program

Sentinel Chicken Surveillance

The Florida State Board of Health established the 1st statewide arbovirus surveillance program following the 1977 SLE epidemic in Central Florida. The Sentinel Chicken Program began in 1978 and the state provides serological testing detecting antibodies and antigens to SLE (St. Louis Encephalitis), EEE (Eastern Equine Encephalitis), WNV (West Nile Virus), and HJ (Highlands Jay). 
The District has 8 Sentinel flocks & Vector Monitoring Sites around the county made up of 6 birds per flock, and they are tested weekly for antibodies.

Black and white striped chickens with red combs in a coop.
A group of black and white chicks, with feeders containing food and water.
A chicken in a nesting box.
A barred Plymouth Rock chicken with distinctive black and white feathers.
Black and white striped chickens with red combs in a coop.
A group of black and white chicks, with feeders containing food and water.
A chicken in a nesting box.
A barred Plymouth Rock chicken with distinctive black and white feathers.
  • The flocks are inspected a minimum of three times each week.
  • Every bird can access fresh water and food 24/7 via their feeder and water system.
  • Each house has a perch installed within the coop to allow the chickens to roost at night.
  • Every chicken is monitored weekly for viral activity. Although the viruses are harmful to man, they do not cause harm to the chicken. This is why chickens are ideal “sentinels.”
  • The District's chickens are in the field for 6 months.
  • After 6 months, the chickens are retired to good homes, and new chickens are placed in the field.
Metal enclosure with a peaked roof, possibly for equipment or storage, on concrete blocks, surrounded by trees and shrubbery.
People inside a room with educational posters, one with a yellow "Indian River Mosquito Control" backpack.
A flock of chickens inside a coop with feeders and perches.

 

Education on how the District's chickens are an essential tool in the fight against Vector Borne Illness is important.  The Chicken's ability to attract mosquitoes and not become ill is crucial to the early detection of diseases like West Nile Virus and St. Louis Encephalitis.

 

If you have further questions regarding the Sentinel Chicken program Contact the office at 772-562-2393 or the Districts Lab Tech Heather Whitehead at h.whitehead@irmd.org. 

A person looks through a microscope in a laboratory setting.
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