Mosquito Vector Production across Socio-Economic Divides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

We investigated the role of socio-economic factors in the proliferation of mosquito vectors in two adjacent but socio-economically contrasting neighborhoods in Baton Rouge, LA, USA. We surveyed mosquito larvae habitat, mosquito larvae, and adult mosquitoes during the summer of 2020. We also evaluate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2021-02, Vol.18 (4), p.1420
Main Authors: de Jesús Crespo, Rebeca, Harrison, Madison, Rogers, Rachel, Vaeth, Randy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abandonments
Abundance
Aedes
Animals
Censuses
Culex
Economic factors
Economics
Habitat preferences
Habitats
High income
Larva
Larvae
Louisiana
Low income groups
Mosquito Vectors
Mosquitoes
Neighborhoods
Pest control
Population density
Social factors
Socioeconomic Factors
Socioeconomics
Tires
Vectors
Waste disposal
West Nile virus
Zika virus
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Summary:We investigated the role of socio-economic factors in the proliferation of mosquito vectors in two adjacent but socio-economically contrasting neighborhoods in Baton Rouge, LA, USA. We surveyed mosquito larvae habitat, mosquito larvae, and adult mosquitoes during the summer of 2020. We also evaluated the number of requests for mosquito abatement services in the years preceding the study for each area. While we did not find differences in terms of the most abundant species, (F = 0.329, = 0.57), we did find a higher abundance of mosquito habitats, particularly discarded tires, as well as larvae (z = 13.83, < 0.001) and adults (F = 4.207, = 0.049) of the species in the low-income neighborhood. In contrast, mosquito abatement requests were significantly higher in the high socio-economic neighborhood (z = -8.561, < 0.001). This study shows how factors such as adjudicated properties, discarded tires and pest abatement requests can influence the abundance of mosquito vectors, disproportionately affecting low-income groups. This study also highlights how spp. may be better indicators than spp. of socio-economic differences between nearby neighborhoods, due to their short flight range and habitat preferences, and this should be considered in future studies attempting to detect such disparities in the future.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph18041420