Professor Ting-Wu Chuang

Department of Molecular Parasitology and Tropical Diseases, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University

Mosquito ecology and the transmission of vector-borne disease are influenced by multiple environmental factors. Climatic variability is one the most important drivers which can influence the inter-annual seasonality of disease transmission. Earth-observing satellites produce an abundance of data that are applicable to the study of human health, including global measurements of vegetation, moisture, and temperature. These environmental factors influence the development and transmission of pathogens, habitats for vectors and hosts, and human exposure to disease. Remotely sensed environmental data can therefore be used to map and forecast the risk of mosquito-borne diseases. Our group aim to integrate epidemiological and satellite remote sensing data forecast climatic risk factors for mosquito-borne disease. This talk will cover various emerging mosquito-borne disease, including malaria in Eswatini, West Nile virus in the U.S., and dengue fever in Taiwan. We used remotely sensed satellite images, weather station data, and geographic information system (GIS) to undertaken spatial and temporal analyses and developing forecasting models for disease early warning systems. Similar techniques have been applied to evaluate associations between snakebites and climate variability in Costa Rica. The climate-based model can contribute to surveillance of mosquito-borne disease transmission risk and prediction of future outbreaks in space and time.