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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 2/15/2008 Publication Date: 3/2/2008 Citation: Britch, S.C., Linthicum, K. 2008. Using satellite climate measurements to understand dynamics of mosquito populations in the US. Meeting Abstract. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Precise, accurate predictions of mosquito densities and distributions would be significant assets to reducing the severity of existing or emerging mosquito-borne disease events in the U.S. We are examining changes in populations of mosquito species from long-term surveillance records provided by mosquito and vector control districts and public health agencies across the country. Mosquito population dynamics are compared to satellite climate measurements to find environmental signals that tend to precede anomalously high or low populations. We present examples of the promising outcomes of these comparisons and describe how they could be used as key features of national mosquito-borne disease surveillance and control programs. We highlight the 2006/2007 outbreak of Rift Valley fever in the Horn of Africa and explore how predictive mosquito population data could have been used to identify vulnerable nodes of contact between the U.S. and eastern Africa and efficiently target protective measures. |
