Potential for a web-based management information system to improve malaria control: An exploratory study in the Lahat District, South Sumatra Province, Indonesia.

Background: A web-based malaria reporting information system (MRIS) has the potential to improve malaria reporting and management. The aim of this study was to evaluate the existing manual paper-based MRIS and to provide a way to overcome the obstacles by developing a web-based MRIS in Indonesia.

Methods: An exploratory study was conducted in 2012 in Lahat District, South Sumatra Province of Indonesia.

Social determinants of malaria in an endemic area of Indonesia.

Background: Malaria is an increasing concern in Indonesia. Socio-demographic factors were found to strongly influence malaria prevalence. This research aimed to explore the associations between socio-demographic factors and malaria prevalence in Indonesia.

Using Present Value as a Simple Approach to Compare Mosquito Larval Control Methods.

Simple economic-based comparisons of source reduction and larvicide treatment are generally lacking in the mosquito control literature. The aim is to address this by developing an Excel tool that calculates the total present value (PV) of control methods. We use 15 years as the time frame, but this can be varied.

Impacts of El Niño Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole on dengue incidence in Bangladesh.

Dengue dynamics are driven by complex interactions between hosts, vectors and viruses that are influenced by environmental and climatic factors. Several studies examined the role of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in dengue incidence. However, the role of Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), a coupled ocean atmosphere phenomenon in the Indian Ocean, which controls the summer monsoon rainfall in the Indian region, remains unexplored.

Multi-agency perspectives on managing mangrove wetlands and the mosquitoes they produce.

A group of researchers, mosquito and coastal managers, and consultants joined together to explore issues of concern to coastal and mosquito management in mangrove forests. At a 1-day workshop in Florida, participants identified issues that are important for their roles. The issues were subsequently compiled into a matrix and the participants were asked to individually assess the importance and urgency of each.

Epidemiologic patterns of Ross River virus disease in Queensland, Australia, 2001-2011.

Ross River virus (RRV) infection is a debilitating disease that has a significant impact on population health, economic productivity, and tourism in Australia. This study examined epidemiologic patterns of RRV disease in Queensland, Australia, during January 2001-December 2011 at a statistical local area level. Spatio-temporal analyses were used to identify the patterns of the disease distribution over time stratified by age, sex, and space.

Spatial and temporal patterns of locally-acquired dengue transmission in northern Queensland, Australia, 1993-2012.

Background: Dengue has been a major public health concern in Australia since it re-emerged in Queensland in 1992-1993. We explored spatio-temporal characteristics of locally-acquired dengue cases in northern tropical Queensland, Australia during the period 1993-2012.

Methods: Locally-acquired notified cases of dengue were collected for northern tropical Queensland from 1993 to 2012.

Climate change and dengue: a critical and systematic review of quantitative modelling approaches.

Background: Many studies have found associations between climatic conditions and dengue transmission. However, there is a debate about the future impacts of climate change on dengue transmission. This paper reviewed epidemiological evidence on the relationship between climate and dengue with a focus on quantitative methods for assessing the potential impacts of climate change on global dengue transmission.

The impact of encroachment of mangroves into saltmarshes on saltwater mosquito habitats.

Will mangrove encroachment into saltmarshes affect saltwater mosquito habitats? To address this, we synthesized information from two perspectives: 1) at a detailed level, the immature mosquito habitat within mangroves; 2) at a more general or regional level, changes due to mangrove expansion into saltmarshes. This is a synthesis of two research projects. One showed that mosquito larval habitats in mangroves are complex, related to the detailed interactions between topography and tidal patterns and that not all parts of a mangrove forest are suitable habitat.

Comparing Aedes vigilax Eggshell Densities in Saltmarsh and Mangrove Systems with Implications for Management.

Aedes vigilax (Skuse), a nuisance and disease vector, is prolific in intertidal wetlands in Australia. Aedine mosquitoes oviposit directly onto substrate. The eggshells are relatively stable spatially and temporally, providing an estimate of mosquito larval production.

Oviposition and larval habitat preferences of the saltwater mosquito, Aedes vigilax, in a subtropical mangrove forest in Queensland, Australia.

Our aim was to investigate the oviposition and larval habitats of the saltwater mosquito Aedes vigilax (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) in a mangrove forest system in subtropical Queensland, Australia. Eggshells (indicators of oviposition) and larvae were sampled in three habitat classes that were depicted in a schematic model. Two classes were in depressions or basins, either with hummocks or dense pneumatophore substrates, both of which retained water after tidal flooding.

Dusk to dawn activity patterns of anopheline mosquitoes in West Timor and Java, Indonesia.

Malaria is a serious health issue in Indonesia. We investigated the dusk to dawn anopheline mosquito activity patterns, host-seeking and resting locations in coastal plain, hilly and highland areas in West Timor and Java. Adult mosquitoes were captured landing on humans or resting in houses or animal barns.

Does mosquito control have an effect on mosquito-borne disease? The case of Ross River virus disease and mosquito management in Queensland, Australia.

We examined the relationship between types of mosquito control programs and the mosquito-borne Ross River virus (RRV) disease in Queensland, Australia. Mosquito control information was collected through a survey of the responsible agencies (local governments), and RRV disease notification data were provided by the Queensland state health authority. The study developed a typology of mosquito control programs, based on the approaches used.

Relationships between anopheline mosquitoes and topography in West Timor and Java, Indonesia.

Background: Malaria is a serious health issue in Indonesia. Mosquito control is one aspect of an integrated malaria management programme. To focus resources on priority areas, information is needed about the vectors and their habitats.

Socio-environmental predictors of Barmah forest virus transmission in coastal areas, Queensland, Australia.

Objective: To assess the socio-environmental predictors of Barmah forest virus (BFV) transmission in coastal areas, Queensland, Australia.

Methods: Data on BFV notified cases, climate, tidal levels and socioeconomic index for area (SEIFA) in six coastal cities, Queensland, for the period 1992-2001 were obtained from the relevant government agencies. Negative binomial regression models were used to assess the socio-environmental predictors of BFV transmission.

Climate variability, social and environmental factors, and ross river virus transmission: research development and future research needs.

Background: Arbovirus diseases have emerged as a global public health concern. However, the impact of climatic, social, and environmental variability on the transmission of arbovirus diseases remains to be determined.

Objective: Our goal for this study was to provide an overview of research development and future research directions about the interrelationship between climate variability, social and environmental factors, and the transmission of Ross River virus (RRV), the most common and widespread arbovirus disease in Australia.

Four degrees of latitude: mosquito control on the "right" coasts of Australia and Florida, USA.

This study compares mosquito control within similar environments between 26 and 30 degrees of latitude on the east central coasts of Florida and of Australia. It describes and compares the relevant mosquito-producing environments, the development of mosquito control, legislative framework, funding arrangements, and organizational differences between the areas, including the international interactions that have facilitated good practices. The article identifies some strengths and weaknesses of the programs in each area.

Habitat characteristics and eggshell distribution of the salt marsh mosquito, Aedes vigilax, in marshes in subtropical Eastern Australia.

Research at 10 locations in coastal subtropical Queensland, Australia, has shown that salt marshes contained heterogeneous distributions of eggshells of the pest and vector mosquito Aedes vigilax (Skuse) (Diptera:Culicidae). The eggshell distribution was related to specific vegetation assemblages, with a mix of the grass, Sporobolus virginicus (L.) Kunth (Poales: Poaceae), and the beaded glasswort, Sarcocornia quinqueflora (Bunge ex (Ung.

Constructed wetlands for sewage effluent treatment and mosquito larvae at two sites in subtropical Australia.

This study of 2 wetlands in subtropical Australia, constructed to treat sewage effluent, examined the relationships between dips positive for mosquito larvae and water quality, operational status of the system, vegetation, and nontarget macroinvertebrates. One site is inland and the other is close to the coast. Larvae of disease vector mosquitoes were present at various times in the wetlands, especially in summer and autumn.

Weather variability, tides, and Barmah Forest virus disease in the Gladstone region, Australia.

In this study we examined the impact of weather variability and tides on the transmission of Barmah Forest virus (BFV) disease and developed a weather-based forecasting model for BFV disease in the Gladstone region, Australia. We used seasonal autoregressive integrated moving-average (SARIMA) models to determine the contribution of weather variables to BFV transmission after the time-series data of response and explanatory variables were made stationary through seasonal differencing. We obtained data on the monthly counts of BFV cases, weather variables (e.

Impact of biting midges on residential property values in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia.

Biting midges (Culicoides spp.) are an important environmental health issue in Hervey Bay, an area of rapid population growth in Australia. It is also the gateway to a World Heritage area (Great Sandy Strait) and a destination for tourists.

Mosquito species (Diptera: Culicidae) and the transmission of Ross River virus in Brisbane, Australia.

This study aimed to identify the major mosquito vectors of Ross River virus (family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, RRV) and to explore the threshold of mosquito abundance necessary for RRV transmission in Brisbane, Australia. Data on the monthly counts of RRV cases by statistical local areas from the Queensland Health and the monthly mosquito abundance in Brisbane between November 1998 and December 2001 from the Brisbane City Council were used to assess the pairwise relationship between mosquito abundance and the incidence of RRV disease over a range of time lags using cross-correlations. We used time series Poisson regression models to identify major mosquito species associated with incidence of RRV after adjusting for overdispersion, maximum temperature, autocorrelation, and seasonality.

Spatiotemporal variation of notified Barmah Forest virus infections in Queensland, Australia, 1993-2001.

The spatiotemporal variations of Barmah Forest virus (BFv) infections were assessed in Queensland, Australia, between 1993 and 2001 utilizing a Geographic Information System. The notified BFv cases came from 441 localities between 1993 and 1995, 512 between 1996 and 1998, and 546 between 1999 and 2001. A statistically significant increase was observed in the number of localities from which the cases were notified by 16.

Malaria in Indonesia: a summary of recent research into its environmental relationships.

A review of the literature was carried out to evaluate malaria and its environmental relationships. Research, in 6 parts of Indonesia, addressed the relationship between malaria incidence and physical and socioeconomic environmental factors, using longitudinal and cross-sectional approaches. Physical factors, which are generally important for malaria, included rainfall, mosquito breeding and resting sites, their distance from human habitation, and elevation, though the latter was not statistically significant.