Georgia's Collaborative Approach to Expanding Mosquito Surveillance in Response to Zika Virus: Year Two

With the continued increase in international travel and immigration to Georgia, the Department of Public Health (DPH) continued its mission to prevent and respond to Zika virus (ZIKV) transmission.

We analyzed surveillance data from the DPH to compare the geographical distribution of counties conducting surveillance, total number, and overall percentage of mosquito species collected in 2016 and 2017. Mosquito surveillance in 2017 was mapped by county and species using ArcMap 10.2.0.

From 2016 and 2017, mosquito surveillance increased from 60 to 159 counties (165% increase). A total of 145,346 mosquitoes were trapped and identified in 2016 compared to 152,593 in 2017 (5.43% increase). There was a difference in the type of mosquito species found by year. Some species collected in previous years were not collected in 2017, while other species found in 2017 were not previously collected during mosquito surveillance. Also, certain mosquito species were found outside of their expected geographical range.

The continued collaborative response to ZIKV by the DPH allowed a continued increase in its surveillance program. Existing and new partnerships continued to develop with military and local health departments to expand and share data. This additional surveillance data allowed DPH to make sound public health decisions regarding mosquito-borne disease risks and close gaps in data related to vector distribution.