Abundance of water bodies is critical to guide mosquito larval control interventions and predict risk of mosquito-borne diseases

Denis Valle,William Pan,Keith Spangler,Benjamin Zaitchik,Beth Feingold

doi:10.1186/1756-3305-6-179

Abstract

Characterization of mosquito breeding habitats is often accomplished with the goal of guiding larval control interventions as well as the goal of identifying areas with higher disease risk. This characterization often relies on statistical measures of association (e.g., regression coefficients) between covariates and presence/absence or abundance of larva. Here we contend that these measures of association are not enough; researchers should also study the spatial and temporal distribution of water bodies. We provide recommendations on how current methodology may be improved to adequately take into account the distribution of water bodies.

Highlights

Characterization of mosquito breeding habitats is often accomplished with the goal of guiding larval control interventions as well as the goal of identifying areas with higher disease risk
While these measures of association are important to characterize larval habitat, here we contend that these measures may not be enough to guide larval control initiatives and determine disease risk
Our contention is based on the same arguments as those that motivated the creation of the population attributable fraction (PAF) concept

Summary

Introduction

Characterization of mosquito breeding habitats is often accomplished with the goal of guiding larval control interventions as well as the goal of identifying areas with higher disease risk. Letter to the editor Studies on mosquito breeding sites typically survey water bodies to determine larval presence or abundance. * Correspondence: drvalle1@gmail.com 1University Program in Ecology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the article habitats (defined here as a water body that typically has larvae) might not be relevant for larval control if water bodies with those risk factors are rare in the overall landscape.

Results

Conclusion