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Taking a Bite Out of 

Mosquito-Borne Illness

Monitoring Mosquito Abundance and Distribution to Assist

Vector-Borne Disease Management in Western Europe

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Advisors:

Dr. Assaf Anyamba, USRA and NASA GSFC 

Dr. John Bolten, NASA GSFC

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Project Team:

Gia Mancini (Project Lead) 
Douglas Gardiner 
Victor Lenske 
Dr. Sara Lubkin 
Helen Plattner 
Luisa Silva 
Alison Thieme 
Aaron Warga

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Abstract:

Vector-borne diseases, caused by pathogens and parasites, are transmitted through living organism carriers known as vectors. Mosquitoes, the most common disease vectors, transmit illnesses such as Zika, West Nile, chikungunya, malaria, dengue, and yellow fever, which affect millions of people across the world and kill more than one million people each year. While vector-borne disease outbreaks are difficult to predict, the Global Mosquito Alert Consortium strives to monitor and mitigate outbreaks through research and citizen science. This approach presents several challenges, including a lack of data standardization across different regions. The NASA DEVELOP team utilized NASA Earth observations and Global Mosquito Alert Consortium citizen science data from countries in Western Europe in order to create a methodology and habitat suitability map to improve prediction models for vector-borne diseases. The MaxEnt habitat modeling software was used to combine different environmental factors and citizen science data to determine which variables are correlated with the presence of mosquitoes. These products will be implemented in an interactive, open-source platform in the subsequent term for easier visualization and representation of habitat suitability.

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Acknowledgements: 

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Dr. John Palmer, Global Mosquito Alert Consortium

Dr. Anne Bowser, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Dr. Greg Newman, Citizen Science Association

Martin Brocklehurst, European Citizen Science Association

Dr. Russanne Low, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

Dr. Arnold van Vliet, Wageningen University

Dr. Beniamino Caputo, Sapienza Università Di Roma

Dr. Alessandra Dellatorre, Sapienza Università Di Roma

Dr. Assaf Anyamba, USRA and NASA GSFC 

Dr. John Bolten, NASA

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This material is based upon work supported by NASA through contract NNL11AA00B and cooperative agreement NNX14AB60A. Any mention of a commercial product, service, or activity in this material does not constitute NASA endorsement. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and partner organizations.

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