Should we bother doing dengue vector surveillance, and if so, how should we do it?
- Author:
Craig R. Williams
1
Author Information
1. School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia.
- Collective Name:Craig R. Williams; Aishah Hani Azil and Scott A. Ritchie
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Dengue;
Vector surveillance;
Aedes;
Decision-making;
Strategy design.
- From:International Journal of Public Health Research
2019;9(2):1137-1141
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
There is an enduring disconnect between the routine surveillance of mosquitoes that transmit
dengue viruses and control activities to limit disease spread. A great variety of methods used
to collect vector surveillance data exists globally, with program design typically influenced by
historical, socio-cultural and cost factors. Surveillance data can be expensive to collect,
meaning that without demonstration of its usefulness in directing mosquito control it may be
deprioritized or even abandoned. Given that universally prescribed surveillance methods are
unlikely to be sustainable and successful, we propose that strategies be designed according to
the local terroir of dengue transmission. Strategy design should consider not only costs, but the
amenability of workers and the public to various methods, the utility of methods for directing
control and reducing disease, and the underlying spatial structure of the vector populations
locally. A process of evaluating each of these factors should precede strategy design and be
part of on-going review processes. In the case that the usefulness of vector surveillance cannot
be demonstrated, then it may be argued that resources could be allocated to other aspects of
disease control.
- Full text:21.2019my0230.pdf
