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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #318093
Research Project: Biting Arthropod Surveillance and Control

Location: Mosquito and Fly Research

Title: Impact of climate variability on vector-borne disease transmission

Author
item Linthicum, Kenneth - Ken
item ANYAMBA, ASSAF - National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA)
item Gibson, Seth
item SMALL, JENNIFER - National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA)
item TUCKER, COMPTON - National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA)
item PAK, EDWIN - National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA)

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/24/2015
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: We will discuss the impact of climate variability on vector borne diseases and demonstrate that global climate teleconnections can be used to anticipate and forecast, in the case of Rift Valley fever, epidemics and epizootics. In this context we will examine significant worldwide weather anomalies that affected vector-borne disease outbreaks during the 2010–2012 period. Utilizing 2000–2012 vegetation index and land surface temperature data from NASA’s satellite based Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to map the magnitude and extent of these anomalies for diverse regions including the continental United States, Russia, East Africa, Southern Africa, and Australia we demonstrate that shifts in temperature and/or precipitation have significant impacts on vegetation patterns with consequences for public health. Weather extremes resulted in excessive rainfall and flooding as well as severe drought created exceptional conditions for extensive mosquito-borne disease outbreaks of dengue, Rift Valley fever, Murray Valley encephalitis, and West Nile virus disease. We describe climate teleconnections between several vector-borne diseases, and describe how risks may develop if current El Niño conditions continue to develop in the fall of 2015.