title: Appraisal of Phlebotomus argentipes habitat suitability using a remotely sensed index in the kala-azar endemic focus of Bihar, India.
abstract: Visceral leishmaniasis, or kala-azar, is recognised as a serious emerging public health problem in India. In this study, environmental parameters, such as land surface temperature (LST) and renormalised difference vegetation indices (RDVI), were used to delineate the association between environmental variables and Phlebotomus argentipes abundance in a representative endemic region of Bihar, India. The adult P. argentipes were collected between September 2009-February 2010 using the hand-held aspirator technique. The distribution of P. argentipes was analysed with the LST and RDVI of the peak and lean seasons. The association between environmental covariates and P. argentipes density was analysed a multivariate linear regression model. The sandfly density at its maximum in September, whereas the minimum density was recorded in January. The regression model indicated that the season, minimum LST, mean LST and mean RDVI were the best environmental covariates for the P. argentipes distribution. The final model indicated that nearly 74% of the variance of sandfly density could be explained by these environmental covariates. This approach might be useful for mapping and predicting the distribution of P. argentipes, which may help the health agencies that are involved in the kala-azar control programme focus on high-risk areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Vector Biology and Control, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Council of Medical Research, Agamkuan, Bihar, India.
authors.forename: Shreekant
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kesari
authors.forename: Gouri Sankar
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Bhunia
authors.forename: Nandini
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mandal
authors.forename: Pradeep
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D008297:Male; D010691:Phlebotomus / Q000145:classification*; D011156:Population Density; D058998:Remote Sensing Technology; D012621:Seasons; D062206:Spatial Analysis