From puddles to planet: modeling approaches to vector-borne diseases at varying resolution and scale

Philip A Eckhoff; Caitlin A Bever; Jaline Gerardin; Edward A Wenger; David L Smith

doi:10.1016/j.cois.2015.05.002

From puddles to planet: modeling approaches to vector-borne diseases at varying resolution and scale

Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2015 Aug:10:118-123. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2015.05.002. Epub 2015 May 14.

Authors

Philip A Eckhoff¹, Caitlin A Bever², Jaline Gerardin², Edward A Wenger², David L Smith³

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Disease Modeling, 1555 132nd Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005, USA. Electronic address: peckhoff@Intven.com.
² Institute for Disease Modeling, 1555 132nd Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005, USA.
³ Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK; Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

PMID: 29587999
DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2015.05.002

Abstract

Since the original Ross-Macdonald formulations of vector-borne disease transmission, there has been a broad proliferation of mathematical models of vector-borne disease, but many of these models retain most to all of the simplifying assumptions of the original formulations. Recently, there has been a new expansion of mathematical frameworks that contain explicit representations of the vector life cycle including aquatic stages, multiple vector species, host heterogeneity in biting rate, realistic vector feeding behavior, and spatial heterogeneity. In particular, there are now multiple frameworks for spatially explicit dynamics with movements of vector, host, or both. These frameworks are flexible and powerful, but require additional data to take advantage of these features. For a given question posed, utilizing a range of models with varying complexity and assumptions can provide a deeper understanding of the answers derived from models.

Publication types

Review