Hi there 🙂 I’m Tipawan Ammarit student ID: 6438166.
How does epidemiology of vectors improve vector control? (Give an example and discuss)

Firstly, epidemiology is the study (scientific, systematic, and data-driven) of the distribution (frequency, pattern) and determinants (causes, risk factors) of health-related states and events (not just diseases) in specified populations (neighborhood, school, city, state, country, global). Therefore, epidemiology information can help to improve vector control management and planning easily by mapping the distribution of vectors, diseases, and case reports. Epidemiology offers powerful tools to quantify the degree to which risk factors and humanitarian interventions affect population health in a crisis. Thus this method is appropriate to use when having disease outbreaks because it’s an easy assessment to find the relevant indicator of the spreading of vectors or diseases.

For example, Fijman,N.S., and Yee,D.A.(2022) research has interested in mapping yellow fever epidemics in the United States. Since, yellow fever (YF) plagued the United States from the 1690s until 1905, resulting in thousands of deaths. Within the US, Aedes aegypti is the only YF vector and almost no data exists for the location of this species prior to the early 1900s. The aim of this study is to determine the historical range of Ae. aegypti. They examined the occurrence of YF epidemics across time and space. Moreover, they hypothesized that historically Ae. aegypti was driven by human population density.

Methodology to test this hypothesis, they collect a list of cases in the US including; human population density, location, and the number of infected people. These data were mapped using ArcGIS and were analyzed using linear regression models to determine the relationship among variables.

The results show the historic range was generally south of 40 latitudes, from Texas in the west to Florida in the east, with concentrations along major waterways like the Mississippi River. Infected individuals and human population density were strongly correlated across the whole dataset as well as by decade. Lastly, although other factors likely affected the range of Ae. aegypti, they found that human population density was related to the number of infected people with historic YF infections.

Reference
Fijman, N. S., & Yee, D. A. (2022). Mapping Yellow fever epidemics as a potential indicator of the historical range of Aedes aegypti in the United States. Memórias Do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 117. https://doi.org/10.1590/0074-02760220306

Thank you very much.