Abstract:
Mosquitoes and mosquitoborne disease transmission
are sensitive to hydrologic variability. If local hydrologic
conditions can be monitored or modeled at the scales at
which these conditions affect the population dynamics of
vector mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit, a means
for monitoring or modeling mosquito populations and mosquitoborne
disease transmission may be realized. We
review how hydrologic conditions have been associated
with mosquito abundances and mosquitoborne disease
transmission and discuss the advantages of different
measures of hydrologic variability. We propose that the
useful application of any measure of hydrologic conditions
requires additional consideration of the scales for both the
hydrologic measurement and the vector control interventions
that will be used to mitigate an outbreak of vectorborne
disease. Our efforts to establish operational
monitoring of St. Louis encephalitis virus and West Nile
virus transmission in Florida are also reviewed.
