A study of climate and dengue fever in Nogales, Arizona
Mindy Butterworth
School of Geography and Development
Abstract
Features of the climate system have been noted to play an important role in the emergence, persistence, and spread of infectious diseases. Mosquito-borne diseases demonstrate this relationship at both the level of the vector and the virus. This research uses the Dynamic Mosquito Simulation Model (DyMSiM) to understand the relationship between Aedes aegypti, the dengue fever vector, in the southwest US and regional climate. Because climate change will likely create more favorable conditions for dengue transmission, these impacts will also be assessed using IPCC projections of future climate to simulate local activity. Because dengue is also strongly mediated by conditions of the built and social environments, this research will also consider who may be most at risk within the population under a climate that more generally supports increased disease transmission.
