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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 #337319

Title: Countering Vector-Borne disease Threats. Presidential Address Given at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the American Mosquito Control Association, February 2016

Author
item Linthicum, Kenneth - Ken

Submitted to: Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/15/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: New, better and more ecologically friendly ways to control mosquitoes are continually being discovered. Today, as the threat from mosquito transmitted disease increases we are able to better use climate and environmental data to predict conditions likely to cause disease transmission and be more effective in controlling mosquitoes and disease.

Technical Abstract: The discovery of new, better and more ecologically friendly ways to prevent human and animal suffering from mosquito transmitted vector-borne diseases continues. Today the risk of vector-borne disease, specifically mosquito transmitted, threats increase dramatically as (1) climate extremes impact the ecology of the planet, affecting mosquito and vertebrate hosts, (2) a prolonged unique period of El Niño activity occurs, (3) teleconnections between ENSO events and global precipitation patterns and vector-borne disease outbreaks are recognized, (4) vector-borne disease may be responding to these teleconnections and expanding their range, and (5) invasive species may also be responding to climate extremes inhabiting new ecologies. As we are able to understand and use climate data teleconnections to forecast elevated environmental and disease risk we can prepare early and vector control can be enhanced.