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Chagas disease vector control and Taylor's law
Joel E Cohen1,2,3, Lucía I Rodríguez-Planes4,5, María S Gaspe5
1Laboratory of Populations, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, United States of America.
Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases
|December 1, 2017
Summary
Taylor's law accurately describes Chagas disease vector abundance fluctuations. This spatial analysis identifies key habitats for targeted control, improving disease vector elimination strategies.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Vector-borne disease research
- Spatial statistics
Background:
- Population density fluctuations impact biodiversity, agriculture, and disease control.
- Effective Chagas disease vector control requires understanding spatial variations in vector populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the applicability of Taylor's law (TL) to Chagas disease vectors.
- To evaluate TL's utility in identifying high-infestation habitats for improved vector control.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed spatial variation in relative abundance of four Chagas disease vectors (Triatoma species).
- Utilized data from 33,908 dwelling searches across 79 field surveys in the Argentine Chaco.
- Applied Taylor's law of fluctuation scaling to mean and variance of vector abundance by habitat, before and after insecticide spraying.
Main Results:
- Taylor's law accurately described the spatial distribution of vector abundance across different habitats.
- Logarithm of sample variance closely approximated a linear function of the logarithm of the sample mean abundance.
- Slopes of TL indicated spatial aggregation and habitat suitability variations.
Conclusions:
- Spatial Taylor's law is a valuable tool for identifying key habitats with high and variable vector infestation.
- This approach offers a novel instrument for targeted control and elimination of Chagas disease vectors.
- Findings support improved strategies for vector-borne disease control through spatial analysis.
