In Larimer County, Colorado, the summer of 2023 saw an alarming increase in horses and people with West Nile Virus (WNV) cases. Fifty-one cases were reported in people, seventeen of which were severe and included neurologic disease, and the County attributed eleven deaths to WNV infection. The virus, transmitted by mosquitoes, continues to pose a serious threat to the community. Amid this continuous health concern, CSU’s One Health Institute focused its graduate-level course, One Health in Communities, on addressing WNV prevalence and raising awareness in the City of Fort Collins. In previous years, the course focused on other topics, such as the redevelopment of unused buildings and evaluating green spaces in the city through a One Health lens, understanding community perceptions around access to green spaces, and a healthy walk initiative, ensuring residents could access natural parks within a ten-minute walk of their homes. The course’s focus shifts each semester, aiming to apply the One Health approach to enhance the local community or to address an emerging health concern like West Nile Virus. 

Dr. Claire Tucker, the first One Health/One Medicine Fellow for the CSU One Health Institute and a veterinary resident at CSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, co-taught the West-Nile-focused course at CSU in the spring semester of 2024 with Dr. Anuja Riles, a pediatrician and the Director of Health & Society Pillar at the Fort Collins Branch Campus of the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. The course is an important part of the One Health Institute’s mission to develop solutions to address human, animal, and environmental health challenges. 

As a part of the course, 14 graduate and professional students from veterinary medicine, human medicine, public health, microbiology, immunology and pathology, and engineering, conducted a seroprevalence study to measure WNV antibodies in residents in the City of Fort Collins to obtain a better understanding of where exposure to the virus was occurring, a study that had not been done in the area for two decades. 

Students and researchers collected and analyzed blood samples from 165 participants throughout the spring semester. Supported by the Ebel Lab, Larimer County Department of Public Health, and the Human Performance Clinical Research Lab, their research found a 5.5% seroprevalence rate (9 positive blood samples) among the 165 participants.

The study’s findings had significant implications for public health in Fort Collins. The 5.5% seroprevalence indicated ongoing exposure risks, underscoring the need for continued surveillance and preventive measures. The students’ and researchers’ work provided valuable data for the Larimer County Department of Public Health that can improve prevention and mitigation efforts around WNV.

In addition to the study, the course emphasized practical applications of mitigation and public awareness strategies. For their final projects, students created innovative campaigns aimed to increase awareness of WNV in the community. Ideas included placing informative garden tags in the soil of plants sold at local shops, delivering bug spray with brochures to residents, developing information to feature on protective clothing sold at local sporting goods stores, creating engaging graphics to educate the youth and public on WNV prevention, and more. Their strategies were showcased in final presentations highlighting the students’ effective and innovative approaches to community engagement.

The course’s success sparked discussions about its future, with potential plans to offer it again in 2025. The focus of the course on a specific disease like WNV that is has a large effect on people and animals in Fort Collins was such a success and the One Health Institute plans to expand the course to cover other emerging health threats affecting the community such as the highly pathogenic influenza outbreak.

The One Health in Communities Course equipped students with valuable research skills and set an example for collaborative public health interventions. The partnership with faculty and students from Colorado State University, the City of Fort Collins, Larimer County, and local health departments ensured that the student’s work was directly relevant and beneficial to the local community. A peer-reviewed paper detailing the study’s findings is in the works, with students from the course leading data analysis and manuscript preparation is ongoing. 

The One Health in Communities Course at Colorado State University highlighted how education, research, and community service can collaborate and improve health in the community. By working to help to address the WNV threat in Fort Collins through student research, the One Health Institute hopes to improve public health and prepare a new generation of animal and public health advocates. In an ongoing effort, the One Health Institute plans to continue to facilitate student-led research to address real-world health challenges impacting human, animal, and environmental health.