Understanding Mosquito Epidemiology Aids in Vector-eradication Process

Justin R. Anderson, PhD, associate professor of biology at Radford University, discusses what factors will aid mosquito control specialists in eradicating vector populations.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“We have an increase in virus replication, changes to the mosquitoes, whether it’s laying more eggs, whether it’s changes in body size, basically all of these will come together to affect the likelihood of virus transmission, basically the epidemiology of these mosquito-borne viruses.

This will help us to design or enhance mosquito control aspects. If we know that mosquitoes replicate in, or breed in, plastic containers, [which will] increase the likelihood of transmission, we can go out and reduce those breeding sources, which is a longstanding mechanism for controlling mosquito populations. [If] you get rid of the breeding sites, [then] you get rid of the mosquitoes. So, our interest then, is trying to figure out how exactly the exposure to the endocrine disruptors affect[s] virus transmission.”