142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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310799
Association of Primary West Nile Virus vector, Culex quinquefasciatus, with weather factors and storm drain components in the City of Fort Worth

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 9:10 AM - 9:30 AM

Kiran Bhandarkar, MPH, CPH , Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX
Joon Lee, PhD , Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX
Brandon Bennett , City of Fort Worth, Public Health and Code Compliance Department, City of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
INTRODUCTION

West Nile virus (WNV) is a vector-borne disease of concern in the United States. The unprecedented WNV epidemic in 2012 generated a high-level of public concern in North-Central Texas. Risk of exposure to the virus is generally estimated by abundance of the vector and their infection rate which can be the basis to determine control measures. Mosquito abundance is affected by environmental factors like weather and habitat, and could be the primary measure to reduce the WNV exposure risk. However, little is known about the effect of environmental factors on the mosquito abundance in North-Central Texas.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to create an empirical model to associate the abundance of the vector, the female Culex quinquefasciatus, with storm-drain components and weather factors in the City of Fort Worth.

METHODS

Abundance of the mosquito population was monitored by weekly trappings using CDC gravid mosquito traps at fifty different sites across the City of Fort-Worth from mid-April through end of October. Weather and storm-drain component data were obtained from the National Climate Data Center and the City’s Storm-water Department, respectively. Correlation analysis, t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to assess the relationship between the mosquito abundance and the environmental factors.

RESULTS

A strong association was seen with 7-day daily temperature averages (r=0.703, p=0.000) while medium associations were noted with wind-speed (r=-0.453, p=0.018), 3-day precipitation (r=0.439, p=0.022), and minimum humidity (r=-0.390, p=0.045). Vector counts were higher at sites with a manhole located within a 400-feet radius area (ρ=0.293, p-value=0.039) and sites with a pond within an 800-feet radius area (ρ=0.303, p-value=0.033) compared to other collection sites.

CONCLUSION

Temperature and the presence of manhole or ponds positively influenced vector abundance while humidity and wind speed had a negative influence on the vector abundance. Stormdrain inlets showed no effect on vector abundance. Further analysis needs to be conducted.

Learning Areas:

Environmental health sciences

Learning Objectives:
Design an empirical model to associate the abundance of the primary West Nile virus vector, the female Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito, with the storm drain system components and the local weather factors in the City of Fort Worth.

Keyword(s): Built Environment, Risk Factors/Assesment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked on this project as a research assistant and have a basic understanding of the West Nile virus fever.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4029.1: Infections and Diseases by Mother Nature