Using remote sensing technology to estimate abundance of vectors of disease agents: Association between remotely sensed rainfall data and abundance of larvae and pupae of the mosquito vector of dengue virus, Αedes aegypti, in Mexico, as a case

The potential effects leading to geographical expansion in areas at risk of infectious diseases are among the important concerns linked to the discussion of climate change. Associations reported in the literature suggest the possibility of monitoring climate related environmental variables to estimate abundance of some vectors of disease agents. Since in situ monitoring is generally costly and time consuming, Remote Sensing technology is being increasingly used to estimate habitat suitability for a variety of vectors of disease agents. Rainfall is a weather parameter of special interest because is a well-defined indicator of vector habitats. However, satisfactory association between remotely sensed rainfall data and vector abundance is still a matter of much uncertainty. The speaker will provide a general introduction about the significance and applicability of satellite technology in this field and describe as a case the results of a cross-sectional analysis of possible association between remotely sensed rainfall data and abundance of larvae and pupae of the mosquito vector of dengue virus, Aedes aegypti, in Mexico. Remotely sensed data were derived from the NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Data on abundance of larvae and pupae of Aedes aegypti were obtained through field surveys conducted in 12 communities in Mexico from ongoing NSF- and NASA-funded studies. The work presented here is aimed to contribute to the above-mentioned studies by helping identify useful indicators of a possibly ongoing climate change.