Prof. Richard French and a student assistant examine a lobster for signs of disease.

In 1999, six people in Brooklyn, NY died of a mysterious illness. A team of UConn pathobiologists, led by Professor Richard French, teamed with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station to provide the first definitive proof that West Nile Encephalitis was to blame. The virus, which until then had never been detected in the U.S., spreads to birds and humans by the bite of infected mosquitoes.

Since the discovery, dead birds (mostly crows) collected from communities throughout Connecticut have been delivered to UConn laboratories where they are examined for evidence of the virus.

Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection, along with state and local health officials, rely on these UConn scientists to identify the infection rate of birds, and determine the geographic extent of the diseased bird population. With this information, communities in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont investigate options that will help control exposure to the disease. In addition, UConn scientists are looking for antibodies that could lead to a long-term solution in controlling the spread of the disease.

As the West Nile virus investigation continues, another environmental event demands the proficiency and attention of the UConn pathobiologists. In the fall of 1999, a massive lobster kill in western Long Island Sound crippled the regional multimillion dollar industry.

As lobstermen began to report traps containing dead or dying catches, UConn researchers offered the assistance of the University's pathobiology laboratories. Within a week, researchers determined a probable cause: a parasitic paramoeba which causes an infection in a lobster's nervous system leading to its death. Ongoing research suggests that other factors may be causing conditions that render the lobster susceptible to the paramoeba.