scholarly journals A Network Analysis Framework to Improve the Delivery of Mosquito Abatement Services in Machala, Ecuador

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine A. Lippi ◽  
Liang Mao ◽  
Anna M. Stewart-Ibarra ◽  
Naveed Heydari ◽  
Efraín Beltrán Ayala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Vector Control ◽  
Mosquito Control ◽  
Transportation Network ◽  
Network Models ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Housing Condition ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Analysis Framework

AbstractBackgroundVector-borne disease places a high health and economic burden in the American tropics. Comprehensive vector control programs remain the primary method of containing local outbreaks. With limited resources, many vector control operations struggle to serve all affected communities within their districts. In the coastal city of Machala, Ecuador, vector control services, such as application of larvicides and truck-mounted fogging, are delivered through two deployment facilities managed by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health. Public health professionals in Machala face several logistical issues when delivering mosquito abatement services, namely applying limited resources in ways that will most effectively suppress vectors of malaria, dengue, and encephalitis viruses.MethodsUsing a transportation network analysis framework, we built models of service areas and optimized delivery routes based on distance costs associated with accessing neighborhoods throughout the city. Optimized routes were used to estimate the relative cost of accessing neighborhoods for mosquito control services in Machala, creating a visual tool to guide decision makers and maximize mosquito control program efficiency. Location-allocation analyses were performed to evaluate efficiency gains of moving service deployment to other available locations with respect to distance to service hub, neighborhood population, dengue incidence, and housing condition.ResultsUsing this framework, we identified different locations for targeting mosquito control efforts, dependent upon management goals and specified risk factors of interest, including human population, housing condition, and reported dengue incidence. Our models indicate that neighborhoods on the periphery of Machala with the poorest housing conditions are the most costly to access. Optimal locations of facilities for deployment of control services change depending on pre-determined management priorities, increasing the population served via inexpensive routes up to 34.9%, and reducing overall cost of accessing neighborhoods up to 12.7%.ConclusionsOur transportation network models indicate that current locations of mosquito control facilities in Machala are not ideal for minimizing driving distances or maximizing populations served. Services may be optimized by moving vector control operations to other existing public health facilities in Machala. This work represents a first step in creating a spatial tool for planning and critically evaluating the systematic delivery of mosquito control services in Machala and elsewhere.

scholarly journals Coordination among neighbors improves the efficacy of Zika control despite economic costs

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie J. Lemanski ◽  
Samantha R. Schwab ◽  
Dina M. Fonseca ◽  
Nina H. Fefferman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Vector Control ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Mosquito Control ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Epidemiological Surveillance ◽  
Larval Control ◽  
Coordination Costs ◽  
Metapopulation Theory

AbstractBackgroundEmerging mosquito-borne viruses like Zika, dengue, and chikungunya pose a major threat to public health, especially in low-income regions of Central and South America, southeast Asia, and the Caribbean. Outbreaks of these diseases are likely to have long-term social and economic consequences due to Zika-induced congenital microcephaly and other complications. Larval control of the container-inhabiting mosquitoes that transmit these infections is an important tool for mitigating outbreaks. However, metapopulation theory suggests that spatiotemporally uneven larvicide treatment can impede control effectiveness, as recolonization compensates for mortality within patches. Coordinating the timing of treatment among patches could therefore substantially improve epidemic control, but we must also consider economic constraints, since coordination may have costs that divert resources from treatment.Methodology/Principle FindingsTo inform practical disease management strategies, we ask how coordination among neighbors in the timing of mosquito control efforts influences the size of a mosquito-borne infectious disease outbreak under the realistic assumption that coordination has costs. Using an SIR/metapopulation model of mosquito and disease dynamics, we examine whether larvicide treatment triggered by surveillance information from neighboring patches reduces human infections when incorporating coordination costs. We examine how different types of coordination costs and different surveillance methods jointly influence the effectiveness of larval control. We find that the effect of coordination depends on both costs and the type of surveillance used to inform treatment. With epidemiological surveillance, coordination improves disease outcomes, even when costly. With demographic surveillance, coordination either improves or hampers disease control, depending on the type of costs and surveillance sensitivity.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results suggest coordination among neighbors can improve management of mosquito-borne epidemics under many, but not all, assumptions about costs. Therefore, estimating coordination costs is an important step for most effectively applying metapopulation theory to strategies for managing outbreaks of mosquito-borne viral infections.Author SummaryMosquito-borne viruses, such as Zika, are an urgent public health threat, particularly in tropical, low-income regions. Vector control, the main strategy for combatting outbreaks, can be challenging because the urban-adapted, container-breeding mosquitoes that transmit these viruses often exhibit metapopulation dynamics, where mortality in one population is compensated by migration from neighboring populations. The timing and spatial distribution of vector control efforts can therefore have a large impact on their efficacy. Using a model of virus transmission and vector population dynamics, we demonstrate that local mosquito control initiatives aimed at reducing the burden of Zika and other mosquito-borne infections are most effective when there is communication of surveillance findings among neighboring control agencies and coordination over the timing of mosquito reduction treatments. We find that local communication improves epidemic outcomes even when it imposes costs to resource-limited control agencies due to gains in the efficiency of mosquito control from spatial coordination.

scholarly journals Integrating Vector and Nuisance Mosquito Control for Severe Weather Response

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2s) ◽  
pp. 41-48
Author(s):  
Heather M. Ward ◽  
Whitney A. Qualls
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Vector Control ◽  
Mosquito Control ◽  
Mosquito Species ◽  
Severe Weather ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Control Plan ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Nuisance Species ◽  
Mosquito Management

ABSTRACT Ideally, all mosquito control programs would have public health–driven and nuisance population–focused components in their mosquito control plan. However, due to resource limitations many mosquito control programs focus attention on one specific component of integrated mosquito control, i.e., adulticiding only. Programs run by public health departments with limited resources are frequently heavily focused on vector control, targeting a few mosquito species that are locally medically relevant in human and animal disease cycles. Focusing their mosquito management on these specific vector species can result in inefficiencies after hurricanes and severe flooding events that create a need for nuisance mosquito control. Floodwater nuisance species that emerge are not routinely a public health threat, but hinder operations related to response efforts and can negatively affect the lives of people in areas recovering from these disaster events. Staff, training, equipment, and facilities, when aimed at public health vector control, may not have the experience, knowledge, or tools to effectively respond to postdisaster, floodwater mosquito populations. As such, all mosquito management programs should have plans in place to handle not only known vectors of public health concern in response to mosquito-borne disease, but also to manage floodwater mosquito populations after natural disasters to safeguard public health and facilitate recovery operations. The current paper discusses the severe weather events in South Texas in 2018 and the resulting integrated nuisance floodwater mosquito control guidance developed by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

scholarly journals Characterizing Infrastructure Resilience in Disasters Using Dynamic Network Analysis of Consumers’ Service Disruption Patterns

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. 2356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadi Nazarnia ◽  
Hadi Sarmasti
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Dynamic Network ◽  
Network Models ◽  
Analysis Framework ◽  
Gorkha Earthquake ◽  
2015 Gorkha Earthquake ◽  
Infrastructure Resilience ◽  
Topological Characteristics ◽  
Service Disruption ◽  
Development And Validation

This study proposes a network analysis framework for characterizing infrastructure resilience in the aftermath of disasters through the use of consumers’ service disruption information. In the presented framework, the notion of “peers” is used to construct the network models of consumers experiencing service disruption in the aftermath of a disaster to understand the type and extent of infrastructure damages and specify disruption patterns. Data related to electricity disruption in Bhaktapur, Nepal, in the aftermath of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake is used to construct the network models of consumers’ networks at different points in time in the aftermath of the disaster. The created models are then used in network analysis for examining the network topological characteristics (such as clustering) and specifying the attributes of service disruption. The contribution of this paper lie in: (i) the development and validation of a novel network from disruption information, (ii) identify the extent of infrastructure disruption, type of damage, and recoverability from changes in network topology over time.

scholarly journals Endectocides as a complementary intervention in the malaria control program: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fereshteh Ghahvechi Khaligh ◽  
Abbas Jafari ◽  
Elena Silivanova ◽  
Mikhail Levchenko ◽  
Bahlol Rahimi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vector Control ◽  
Malaria Transmission ◽  
Malaria Control ◽  
Mosquito Control ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Complex Species ◽  
Malaria Control Program ◽  
Systemic Insecticides ◽  
Meta Analyses

Abstract Background Malaria is the most common vector-borne disease transmitted to humans by Anopheles mosquitoes. Endectocides and especially ivermectin will be available as a vector control tool soon. The current review could be valuable for trial design and clinical studies to control malaria transmission. Methods PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct were searched for original English published papers on (“Malaria chemical control” OR “Malaria elimination” OR “Anopheles vector control” OR “Malaria zooprophylaxis”) AND (“Systemic insecticides” OR “Endectocides” OR “Ivermectin”). The last search was from 19 June 2019 to 31 December 2019. It was updated on 17 November 2020. Two reviewers (SG and FGK) independently reviewed abstracts and full-text articles. Data were extracted by one person and checked by another. As meta-analyses were not possible, a qualitative summary of results was performed. Results Thirty-six published papers have used systemic insecticides/endectocides for mosquito control. Most of the studies (56.75%) were done on Anopheles gambiae complex species on doses from 150 μg/kg to 400 μg/kg in several studies. Target hosts for employing systemic insecticides/drugs were animals (44.2%, including rabbit, cattle, pig, and livestock) and humans (32.35%). Conclusions Laboratory and field studies have highlighted the potential of endectocides in malaria control. Ivermectin and other endectocides could soon serve as novel malaria transmission control tools by reducing the longevity of Anopheles mosquitoes that feed on treated hosts, potentially decreasing Plasmodium parasite transmission when used as mass drug administration (MDA).

scholarly journals Thailand Momentum on Policy and Practice in Local Legislation on Dengue Vector Control

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adisak Bhumiratana ◽  
Apiradee Intarapuk ◽  
Suriyo Chujun ◽  
Wuthichai Kaewwaen ◽  
Prapa Sorosjinda-Nunthawarasilp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Vector Control ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Dengue Vector ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Governmental Agencies ◽  
Dengue Control ◽  
Dengue Vector Control

Over a past decade, an administrative decentralization model, adopted for local administration development in Thailand, is replacing the prior centralized (top-down) command system. The change offers challenges to local governmental agencies and other public health agencies at all the ministerial, regional, and provincial levels. A public health regulatory and legislative framework for dengue vector control by local governmental agencies is a national topic of interest because dengue control program has been integrated into healthcare services at the provincial level and also has been given priority in health plans of local governmental agencies. The enabling environments of local administrations are unique, so this critical review focuses on the authority of local governmental agencies responsible for disease prevention and control and on the functioning of local legislation with respect to dengue vector control and practices.

scholarly journals Development of a More Effective Mosquito Trapping Box for Vector Control

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanawat Chaiphongpachara ◽  
Ploypailin Bunyuen ◽  
Kitthisak Khlaeo Chansukh
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Vector Control ◽  
Mosquito Control ◽  
Cotton Cloth ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Major Public Health Issue ◽  
Wooden Frame ◽  
Pinus Kesiya

Mosquito-borne diseases are a major public health issue in nearly all tropical and subtropical countries, making vector control imperative. The mosquito trapping box is one type of mosquito traps that is popular in some areas because it is affordable, environmentally friendly, and easy to produce. This research investigated whether the effectiveness of the mosquito trapping box could be increased through the addition of various physical factors, including a wooden frame, black cotton cloth, a fan, carbon dioxide (CO2), and heat, by testing a range of box designs in the Samut Songkhram Province, Thailand, between December 2016 and January 2017. We found that trapping boxes constructed with Pinus kesiya wood caught more mosquitoes than those constructed with two other types of wood or aluminum. We also found that mosquito trapping boxes were more effective when more factors were added, although these differences were only significant for black cotton cloth and CO2. These findings will guide the future development of mosquito trapping boxes for effective mosquito control in other areas, helping to reduce the incidence of mosquito-borne diseases.

scholarly journals Assessing the Risk of Exotic Mosquito Incursion through an International Seaport, Newcastle, NSW, Australia

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Cameron E. Webb ◽  
Philippe G. Porigneaux ◽  
David N. Durrheim
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mosquito Control ◽  
Economic Costs ◽  
Considerable Effort ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Residential Properties ◽  
Surveillance Programs ◽  
Water Holding ◽  
Pot Plant

Exotic mosquitoes, especially container-inhabiting species such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, pose a risk to Australia as they bring with them potentially significant pest and public health concerns. Notwithstanding the threat to public health and wellbeing, significant economic costs associated with the burden of mosquito control would fall to local authorities. Detection of these mosquitoes at airports and seaports has highlighted pathways of introduction but surveillance programs outside these first ports of entry are not routinely conducted in the majority of Australian cities. To assist local authorities to better prepare response plans for exotic mosquito incursions, an investigation was undertaken to determine the extent of habitats suitable for container-inhabiting mosquitoes in over 300 residential properties adjacent to the Port of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW. More than 1500 water-holding containers were recorded, most commonly pot plant saucers, roof gutters, and water-holding plants (e.g., bromeliads). There were significantly more containers identified for properties classified as untidy but there was no evidence visible that property characteristics could be used to prioritise property surveys in a strategic eradication response. The results demonstrate that there is potential for local establishment of exotic mosquitoes and that considerable effort would be required to adequately survey these environments for the purpose of surveillance and eradication programs.

Programs of the Cancer Control Program—U. S. Public Health Service

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-528
Author(s):  
Charles J. A. Schulte
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Public Health Service ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Control Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Public ◽  
Cancer Control Program

ON JANUARY 1, 1967, the Cancer Control Program will become part of the National Center for Chronic Disease Control within the Public Health Service's new Bureau of Disease Prevention and Environmental Control. Our primary mission is to stimulate and encourage the application of currently available techniques of cancer prevention, cancer detection, and cancer control to the community at the grass roots level. If this will be the case after the reorganization remains to be seen. Figure 1 shows the new organization of the Public Health Service. By way of illustration, I think it would be well to briefly outline a few of our activities. An area of heavy emphasis has been the use of the Papanicolaou smears for cervical cancer control. These programs have been responsible for developing certified cytotechnology training schools, supporting and training large numbers of cytotechnicians. In addition, we are supporting some 90 hospital-based cervical cancer screening projects across the country. A program to encourage the general practitioner to screen his private patients in the office is jointly sponsored by the American Academy of General Practice and the Cancer Control Program. The very grave problem in the United States of smoking and carcinoma of the lung is the major responsibility of tile National Clearinghouse for Smoking and Health, a part of the Division of Chronic Diseases which developed out of the Cancer Control Program. We are engaged in a number of developmental projects, such as the flexible fiber optic proctosigmoidoscope. We hope to be able to produce a proctosigmoidoscope that will reach the splenic flexure.

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