Abstract
Remotely sensed vegetation measurements for the last 30 years combined with other climate data sets such as rainfall and sea surface temperatures have come to play an important role in the study of the ecology of arthropod-borne diseases. We show that epidemics and epizootics of previously unpredictable Rift Valley fever (RVF) are directly influenced by large-scale flooding associated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). This flooding affects the ecology of disease transmitting arthropod vectors through vegetation development and other bioclimatic factors. This information is now utilized to monitor, model, and map areas of potential RVF outbreaks and is used as an early warning system for risk reduction of outbreaks to human and animal health, trade, and associated economic impacts. The continuation of such satellite measurements is critical to anticipating, preventing, and managing disease epidemics and epizootics and other climate-related disasters.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 6218155 |
| Pages (from-to) | 2824-2834 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the IEEE |
| Volume | 100 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
Manuscript received September 21, 2011; revised March 9, 2012; accepted March 20, 2012. Date of publication June 14, 2012; date of current version September 14, 2012. This work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Defense, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Division of GEIS Operations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A. Anyamba is with the Universities Space Research Association, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA (e-mail: [email protected]). K. J. Linthicum and S. C. Britch are with the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Gainesville, FL 32608 USA (e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]). J. Small is with Science Systems Applications, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA (e-mail: [email protected]). C. J. Tucker is with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA (e-mail: [email protected]).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center | |
| Division of GEIS | |
| U.S. Department of Defense | |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | |
| Agricultural Research Service |
Keywords
- Arthropod-borne virus
- El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
- Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV)
- climate variability
- normalized difference vegetation index
- predictive model
- risk management and mitigation
