Fighting Global Disease and Degradation of Health Caused by Mosquitoes through Citizen Science Case Study Presentation Mr. Garry Harris, RCE Greater Atlanta 8th Americas Regional Meeting 23-25 September, 2019, Burlington, USA

1. Garry Harris
RCE Greater Atlanta
Center for Sustaianble Communities
SE Director GLOBE
Fighting Global Disease and Degradation of
Health Caused by Mosquitoes Through
Citizen Science
September 24, 2019

2. GARRY HARRIS, SOUTHEAST DIRECTOR GLOBE
What do you know about the
Mosquito?

3. 3
True or False:
There are about 3500 species of
mosquitoes.

4. 4
True
There are about 3500 species of
mosquitoes around
the world.

5. 5
True or False:
Both male and female mosquitoes
bite humans.

6. 6
False:
Only females bite humans, they
need a blood meal for their eggs
to develop.

7. 7
True or False:
Mosquitoes don’t have a useful
role in the ecosystem

8. 8
False:
For humans, mosquitoes are a nuisance as well
as a carrier of disease, but they also play an
important role as food for organisms such as
amphibians, birds, bats and fish. They also
pollinate plants when they feed on nectar.

9. 9
True or False:
The first mosquito appeared
during the time of the dinosaurs

10. 10
True
The first mosquito appeared
during the time of the
dinosaurs.
Mosquitoes are known from
as far back as the Triassic
Period – 400 million years ago

11. 11
True or False:
Mosquitoes are less active during
a full moon

12. 12
False:
Mosquitoes are less active during
a full moon
A full moon can increase
mosquito activity- up to 500% in
one study!

13. 13
True or False:
Light clothing is more attractive to
many species of mosquitoes

14. 14
False:
Dark clothing has been shown
to attract some species of
mosquitoes more than light
clothing. Wearing lighter
colored clothing can provide
some added protection from
mosquito bites.

15. 15
True or False:
Smelly feet attract some species of
mosquitoes

16. 16
True!
Smelly feet attract some species of mosquitoes.
Why? Maybe because dirty socks smell of carbon
dioxide, sweat and lactic acid, but we are not sure.

17. 17
True or False:
Mosquitoes locate their hosts by
sound and radar, like bats

18. 18
False:
Mosquitoes locate their hosts by
sound and radar, like bats
Mosquitoes find hosts by sight (detect movement),
by detecting infrared radiation emitted by warm
bodies, and by chemical signals (carbon dioxide and
lactic acid)- from a distance of 25-35 meters! They do
not use radar like bats.

19. 19
True or False:
Depending on the species, some
mosquitoes fly more than 40 miles to
obtain a blood meal.

20. 20
True
Some mosquitoes, such as salt marsh
mosquitoes can fly more than 40 miles for a
blood meal, others, such as Aedes aegypti, the
mosquito that can transmit Zika, dengue,
yellow fever and chikungunya may fly just a
few hundred meters in her lifetime.

21. 21
True or False
Female mosquitoes tend to bite
smaller people

22. 22
False
Female mosquitoes tend to bite
bigger people because they produce
more carbon dioxide and lactic acid.
The female mosquitoes have sensors
for these chemicals.

23. 23
True or False
Female mosquitoes tend to bite
active or fidgety people

24. 24
True
Female mosquitoes tend to bite active
or fidgety people. In some studies,
movement of the host increased biting
by 50%. This may be because that
fidgety people sweat more and emit
more CO2 and lactic acid.

25. 25
What are 5 things you can do to
protect yourself from mosquitoes?

26. 26
What are things you can do to
protect yourself from mosquitoes?
Know when it is mosquito season and take precautions!
Make yourself less attractive to mosquitoes:
• wear long sleeves and pants and socks
• Wear clean clothes that reduce the chemical attractants our bodies
produce
• Wear light colored clothes that are less attractive
• Use an insect repellent on clothes and body (20% DEET)
• Use permethrin-treated gear and clothing
• Sleep in places that are air conditioned or is screened against bugs, sleep
under a bed net if exposed to outdoors.
If you get sick after traveling, see a doctor and tell her where you traveled.

27. 27
What do you know about
mosquitoes?
• Which mosquitoes are potential vectors of disease?
• Which mosquito species are present in your
community?
• How can you protect yourself and your community
from mosquito-borne disease?

28. Mosquito Deadlist Animal on the Planet
Every year, more than a billion people
worldwide (roughly one in every seven
people) become ill and 500,000-750,000
die as a result of mosquito bites.

29. OVER 214 MILLION CASES OF MALARIA 91 COUNTRIES

30. OVER 214 MILLION CASES OF MALARIA 91 COUNTRIES
• Malaria is a disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to
humans by the Anopheles mosquito.
• Malaria causes more deaths per year than any other mosquito-
transmitted disease. Malaria is preventable and curable with drugs
and medical attention.
• The female Anopheles requires a blood meal to produce her eggs.
• Not all Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria- about 10% of
approx. 400 species
• You can find out which species are important vectors for disease
transmission in your region.

31. OTHER SPECIES CAUSE OTHER SERIOUS
DISEASE
Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are two
species that potentially transmit pathogens to
humans that can cause the following diseases:
yellow fever
dengue fever
chikungunya
Zika virus
equine encephalitis

32. AFFECTED BY YELLOW FEVER ACROSS THE WORLD

33. PROBABILITY OF THE SPREAD OF THE ZIKA VIRUS

34. PROBABILITY OF THE SPREAD OF THE ZIKA VIRUS

35. INCREASED PROBABILITY OF SPREAD ACROSS US
Zika has begun to spread to these parts of the United States as
well.
Human adapted - we create habitats they like!
Bite all times of day
Preferred breeding site: containers
Produces 100-200 eggs
Can persist dry for more than a year

36. Knowing where mosquitoes are breeding is important
for public health authorities, who take action to reduce
the risk of disease in your community.
Public health partners can determine if disease is being
transmitted by the mosquitoes in your community.
You will not be able to determine if a mosquito is
carrying a disease, only if it is a type of mosquito that
can potentially carry disease.

37. Decommissioning breeding sites by dumping
water from containers and picking up trash will
help reduce the population of mosquitoes in your
community.

38. Mosquitoes, Environment & Weather (climate change)
Hurricanes? Floods? Droughts?
Unusually High rainfall: creates new breeding
sites where none existed before.
Unusually low rainfall can change habitats
can concentrate water into small pools
where there was previously flowing water.
Increase in proportion of breeding sites in
containers.
Hurricanes or drought: Both provide new
and unique places for mosquitoes to breed.
Citizen Scientists!
You play an important role in finding and mitigating breeding
sites

40. GLOBE Observer invites you to make environmental
observations
that complement NASA satellite observations to help scientists
studying Earth and the global environment.
By using the GLOBE Observer app, you are joining the GLOBE
community and contributing important scientific data to NASA
and GLOBE, your local community, and students and scientists
worldwide.
Get the app from your online app store.
Then open the app. You will need access
to your email to register.