Research Article
Mapping Ae. aegypti Bird Bath Habitats for Implementing "Seek and Destroy" Larval Source Management in Hillsborough County, FL. USA
Kristen Keana Ritchie*,
Ricardo Lzurieta,
Ismael Hoare,
Namit Choudhari,
Kayleigh Murray,
Brooke Yost,
David Fiess,
Paolo Pecora,
Anthony Masys,
Jesse Casanova,
Benjamin George Jacob
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 1, April 2024
Pages:
1-17
Received:
24 October 2023
Accepted:
11 December 2023
Published:
11 January 2024
Abstract: Bird baths pose a threat to human life as they are the perfect foci for Aedes aegypti Linnaeus, a mosquito that can spread chikungunya, Zika fever, Rift Valley fever, Mayaro, Yellow fever, and dengue under the right temperature and precipitation conditions. The vector lays its eggs in containers with standing water, which later emerge as blood-feeding adult females that can transmit these viruses. Unfortunately, past entomological models contributed to literature have not been able to predictively map precise geolocations of aquatic larval habitats of Ae. aegypti. This is primarily due to limited remote sensing tools [e.g., acquiring epi-entomologic habitat data using ground-level survey with a Google Map, differentially collected Global Positioning Systems (GPS) tracker, etc.]. Thus, many Ae. aegypti habitats may go undetected even in open, canopied, land cover areas. We employed ArcGIS Pro, Python, and R to develop multiple satellite spectral signature models for predicting Ae. aegypti bird bath habitats in Hillsborough County, Florida. We interpolated a georeferenced, county abatement, high-income, residential, bird bath, Red, Green, and Blue [RGB], Sentinel-2, 10-meter resolution, spectral signature in Python. Incorporating other prolific, Ae. aegypti, larval/pupal habitat, seasonal, gridded, zip code, land use/land cover [LULC], stratified, Normalized Difference Vegetation [NDVI], and elevation satellite maps allowed eco-cartographically distinguishing unknown potential super breeder foci backyards [> 3 bird bath larval/pupal habitats] as well as individual aquatic breeding site foci in the intervention, county abatement, study site. Since we knew the aquatic habitat data occurrence abundance and distribution, a priori, eigen-autocorrelation, eigen-spatial filter algorithm attempted to spatially geolocate potentially hyperendemic clustered habitat patterns [i.e., ‘hot spots’] and dispersed habitat patterns [i.e., ‘cold spots’]. We subsequently field-verified the habitat signature entomological habitat model forecasts. The sensitivity and specificity of the ground truth exercises revealed a model approaching 100 percent for identifying aquatic, birdbath, Ae. aegypti, larval habitats. The Moran's Index [I] indicated slight geospatial negative autocorrelation; [Moran's Index: -0.143071, z-score: -1.057957, p-value: 0.290075], hence the breeding site aquatic foci were dispersed. Remote sensing data can be used for constructing LULC, NDVI, elevation and signature models which can be used for implementing "Seek and Destroy" a real-time larval source management [LSM] system for informing individual homeowners and residents using social media for removing standing water in bird baths, twice a week.
Abstract: Bird baths pose a threat to human life as they are the perfect foci for Aedes aegypti Linnaeus, a mosquito that can spread chikungunya, Zika fever, Rift Valley fever, Mayaro, Yellow fever, and dengue under the right temperature and precipitation conditions. The vector lays its eggs in containers with standing water, which later emerge as blood-feed...
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Research Article
Assessment of the Effect of Neem Plant Products on House Mosquito Repellency: A Case Study of Burera and Gicumbi Districts
Gaspard Ntabakirabose*,
Clementine Mukanoheri,
Karinda Mory Vital,
Marie Henriette Uwera,
Concorde Nsengumuremyi,
Venuste Nsengimana
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 1, March 2024
Pages:
18-25
Received:
19 February 2024
Accepted:
5 March 2024
Published:
17 April 2024
Abstract: Insect pests, diseases, and weeds are interlinked and complement each other. Mosquito bites constitute a nuisance to man and his environment. The female Anopheles mosquito transmits malaria parasites, Aedes aegygti mosquitoes are known to transmit yellow fever and dengue fever. Therefore, the present study seeks to assess the effect of neem plant products on house mosquito repelling. A case study of Burera, and Gicumbi Districts. A cross-section sampling technique was used in this study. Six respondents were selected from each category to make a sixth (60) respondent sample size. The results of this study indicated that neem oil, neem leaves, and neem smoke were most effective for repelling mosquitoes respectively at (p <0.01). There was a statistically significant difference between the various neem products repelling mosquito bites (Number of observations 60; P-Value < 0.0001, and R2 of 0.833). The finding of this study also indicated that using neem plant products to repel mosquitoes should increase neem plant product value, reduce costs of chemical insecticides, increase mosquito repellency, reduce disease vectors, increase the use of biological control, control mosquito bites, reduce the death of children under five years, and increase research studies. The high need for support for increasing research on eco-friendly techniques and strategies should be enhanced as well as reducing chemical pesticide use which increases Greenhouse gas emissions and reduction of pollinators.
Abstract: Insect pests, diseases, and weeds are interlinked and complement each other. Mosquito bites constitute a nuisance to man and his environment. The female Anopheles mosquito transmits malaria parasites, Aedes aegygti mosquitoes are known to transmit yellow fever and dengue fever. Therefore, the present study seeks to assess the effect of neem plant p...
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