Remote Sensing for Operational Surveillance of Mosquito‐Borne Diseases
7 affiliations
- 1Department of Integrative Biology University of South Florida Tampa FL USA.
- 2Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering University of Florida Gainesville FL USA.
- 3Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN USA.
- 4University of Maryland Baltimore County Baltimore MD USA.
- 5NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD USA.
- 6US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology Gainesville FL USA.
- 7Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Millbrook NY USA.
Abstract
Remote sensing observations have demonstrated increasing value in identifying human risk from mosquito-borne diseases because mosquito ecology is intrinsically tied to geophysical variables measurable by satellites. Satellite-based monitoring of environmental conditions at varying temporal and spatial scales has extended our capacity for mosquito surveillance and control for many mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria, dengue, Zika, West Nile fever, and Rift Valley fever. However, technical challenges and operational limitations continue to pose barriers for more routine integration of satellite data into management programs. To achieve this, we need to more explicitly connect these technologies to practical management scales, which are often disconnected from the spatial and temporal scales at which remote sensing data are readily accessible. Here, we comprehensively review advances in remote sensing and ecological research with a focus on their contributions to operational mosquito surveillance and control. We synthesize current research, derivative applications, and challenges associated with using remote sensing to understand mosquito-borne disease ecology and evaluate multi-scale satellite-based opportunities to translate technical advances to control and management actions. Finally, we develop actionable guidelines for an integrated strategy of cross-disciplinary collaboration in the public health community to expand adoption of remote sensing approaches for a variety of mosquito-borne infectious diseases.
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BibTeX
@article{ash2026remote,
title = {{Remote Sensing for Operational Surveillance of Mosquito‐Borne Diseases}},
author = {Lauren V Ash and Lory L Willard and Karlyn K Harrod and Compton J Tucker and Kenneth J Linthicum and Assaf Anyamba and Seth Gibson and Barbara A Han and Andrew M Kramer},
journal = {GeoHealth},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1029/2026gh001868},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13725843},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Remote Sensing for Operational Surveillance of Mosquito‐Borne Diseases
AU - Lauren V Ash
AU - Lory L Willard
AU - Karlyn K Harrod
AU - Compton J Tucker
AU - Kenneth J Linthicum
AU - Assaf Anyamba
AU - Seth Gibson
AU - Barbara A Han
AU - Andrew M Kramer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
JO - GeoHealth
DO - 10.1029/2026gh001868
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13725843
AB - Remote sensing observations have demonstrated increasing value in identifying human risk from mosquito-borne diseases because mosquito ecology is intrinsically tied to geophysical variables measurable by satellites. Satellite-based monitoring of environmental conditions at varying temporal and spatial scales has extended our capacity for mosquito surveillance and control for many mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria, dengue, Zika, West Nile fever, and Rift Valley fever. However, technical challenges and operational limitations continue to pose barriers for more routine integration of satellite data into management programs. To achieve this, we need to more explicitly connect these technologies to practical management scales, which are often disconnected from the spatial and temporal scales at which remote sensing data are readily accessible. Here, we comprehensively review advances in remote sensing and ecological research with a focus on their contributions to operational mosquito surveillance and control. We synthesize current research, derivative applications, and challenges associated with using remote sensing to understand mosquito-borne disease ecology and evaluate multi-scale satellite-based opportunities to translate technical advances to control and management actions. Finally, we develop actionable guidelines for an integrated strategy of cross-disciplinary collaboration in the public health community to expand adoption of remote sensing approaches for a variety of mosquito-borne infectious diseases.
SN - 2471-1403
ER -