Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tarrant County Receives Second Award for Development of West Nile Virus Mapping Tool

tarrantcountyTarrant County has received the Center for Digital Government 2014 Achievement Award in the category of “Government-to-Citizen” communications for its West Nile Virus Mapping Tool.

“This tremendous honor is a reflection of our progressive information technology strategy to provide relevant, real-time information to the communities we serve,” said Tarrant County Deputy Chief Information Officer Christopher Nchopa-Ayafor. “We will continue to innovate and excel in digital government in a quest to become the best IT organization in state and local government.”

Tarrant County Information Technology Department’s Geographical Information System team collaborated with Tarrant County Public Health (TCPH) to develop a West Nile Virus (WNV) application during the record-breaking WNV season of 2012.

The first phase of the project (Summer 2012) involved the development of an internal mapping site where staff can search for positive and negative mosquito traps – as well as positive human cases. Search criteria include date range, buffer distance, zip code, and city.

The second phase (Spring 2013) involved the development of a public site. Visitors can download statistical information based on demographics, see current and projected spray areas (aerial and ground), and read public announcements.

“Our West Nile Virus Mapping Tool is a user-friendly resource available to everyone in Tarrant County. It’s an easy way to stay updated on current WNV conditions and community announcements. The residents are the big winners with this tool. It’s one more way we are working to safeguard our community,” said TCPH Health Director Vinny Taneja

This summer, Tarrant County received an award for the mapping tool from the National Association of Counties.