A remote sensing analysis of vector abundance and malaria risk associated with selected villages in southern Belize, C.A

The authors report on an integrated methodology of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) to assess the risk of malaria transmission in the villages of southern Belize. Studies were initiated in 1990 that characterized the environmental requirements of the important Anopheles mosquitoes in Belize. A data set of environmental criteria was compiled to assess relative risk for the villages. Risk was defined as the presence and abundance of vector mosquitoes for malaria transmission based on environmental criteria. An integrated GIS was employed for differentiating villages of high and low risk. The villages were ranked according to several factors, e.g., elevation, distance to major rivers or streams, and land use. The predictions included the identification of the 10 highest and the 10 lowest "villages of risk". A field survey team was then employed to test presence/abundance of the three important vector species in each of the 20 villages.