Geospatial big data methods enable mapping potential habitats.
Geospatial big data methods enable mapping potential habitats.
To enhance existing strategies for controlling the Aedes aegypti mosquito, geoinformation scientist Dr Steffen Knoblauch has created a high-resolution environmental suitability map for Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) that can help identify areas most conducive to breeding. It is based on advanced geospatial big data methods – leveraging openly available geodata such as satellite imagery, street view images, and climate data – that the researcher developed at Heidelberg University’s Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR) and at HeiGIT (Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology).
The mosquito species Aedes aegypti transmits infectious diseases such as dengue fever, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. Also known as the Egyptian tiger mosquito, the insect favors breeding in stagnant water accumulating in artificial containers including, for instance, water tanks, discarded tires, potted plants, and storm drains, as Dr Knoblauch, a researcher in the Geoinformatics research group at the IWR, explains. Suitable habitat areas are expanding due to global trends such as increasing urbanization. Because the global availability of vaccines for the diseases the mosquito transmits are still limited, with the exception of yellow fever, vector control – eliminating breeding habitats or the targeted spraying of insecticides – is currently the most effective method of control.
Read more at Heidelberg University
Image: Water tanks: common Aedes aegypti breeding site in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). (Credit: © Steffen Knoblauch)
