Abstract
Aedes albopictus is the most invasive mosquito in the world, an important disease vector, and a biting nuisance that limits outdoor activities. Area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) is the recommended control strategy. We conducted an economic evaluation of the AW-IPM project in Mercer and Monmouth Counties, New Jersey with a controlled design (AW-IPM vs. control) from 2009 through 2011. The study analyzed financial documents and staff time for AW-IPM and surveyed an average of 415 randomly chosen households in AW-IPM and control areas each fall from 2008 through 2011. Hours lost from yard and porch activities were calculated as differences between actual and potential hours of these activities in an average summer week if there had been no mosquito concerns. Net estimated benefits of AW-IPM were based on cross-over and difference-in-difference analyses. Reductions in hours lost were valued based on respondents' willingness to pay for a hypothetical extra hour free of mosquitoes spent on yard or porch activities and literature on valuation of a quality adjusted life year (QALY). The incremental cost of AW-IPM per adult was $41.18 per year. Number of hours lost due to mosquitoes in AW-IPM areas between the base year (2008) and the intervention years (2009-2011) declined by 3.30 hours per summer week in AW-IPM areas compared to control areas. Survey respondents valued this improvement at $27.37 per adult per summer week. Over the 13-week summer, an average adult resident gained 42.96 hours of yard and porch time, worth $355.82. The net benefit over the summer was $314.63. With an average of 0.0027 QALYs gained per adult per year, AW-IPM was cost effective at $15,300 per QALY gained. The benefit-cost ratio from hours gained was 8.64, indicating that each $1 spent on AW-IPM gave adults additional porch and yard time worth over $8.
Highlights
Globalization and the expansion of transcontinental shipment of tires and other goods in the 1970s led to the worldwide spread of an Asiatic mosquito species, Aedes albopictus (Skuse), and its establishment in new regions and countries around the globe [1,2,3]
Aedes albopictus is a daytime biting mosquito known as the Asian tiger mosquito and is a nuisance [5,6,7] as well as a potential disease vector. [1,4,8,9,10]This species is reported to vector at least 22 arboviruses, including dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever [1,4,8,10]
For the benefit-cost analysis of this project, we computed the economic cost of project activities, derived the household benefit from the area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) by computing the reduction in the number of yard and porch hours lost in a typical summer week due to mosquitoes, and quantified the value associated with one additional mosquito-freehour engaged in yard and porch activities
Summary
Globalization and the expansion of transcontinental shipment of tires and other goods in the 1970s led to the worldwide spread of an Asiatic mosquito species, Aedes albopictus (Skuse), and its establishment in new regions and countries around the globe [1,2,3]. [1,4,8,9,10]This species is reported to vector at least 22 arboviruses, including dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever [1,4,8,10] The establishment of this species in the southeastern and mid-Atlantic states of the United States, combined with increasing number of travelers to arbovirus endemic countries that return infected, is a concern for both mosquito control and public health officials. This situation increases the risk of local transmission of arbovirus diseases as observed through autochthonous transmission of dengue and/or chikungunya in Hawaii, USA [11], France [12], Croatia [13], and Italy [14]
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