title: Prospects and recommendations for risk mapping to improve strategies for effective malaria vector control interventions in Latin America.
abstract: With malaria control in Latin America firmly established in most countries and a growing number of these countries in the pre-elimination phase, malaria elimination appears feasible. A review of the literature indicates that malaria elimination in this region will be difficult without locally tailored strategies for vector control, which depend on more research on vector ecology, genetics and behavioural responses to environmental changes, such as those caused by land cover alterations, and human population movements. An essential way to bridge the knowledge gap and improve vector control is through risk mapping. Malaria risk maps based on statistical and knowledge-based modelling can elucidate the links between environmental factors and malaria vectors, explain interactions between environmental changes and vector dynamics, and provide a heuristic to demonstrate how the environment shapes malaria transmission. To increase the utility of risk mapping in guiding vector control activities, definitions of malaria risk for mapping purposes must be standardized. The maps must also possess appropriate scale and resolution in order to become essential tools in integrated vector management (IVM), so that planners can target areas in greatest need of control measures. Fully integrating risk mapping into vector control programmes will make interventions more evidence-based, making malaria elimination more attainable.
authors.affiliation: Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA. t.alimi@umiami.edu.
authors.forename: Temitope O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Alimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA. dofuller@miami.edu.
authors.forename: Douglas O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, Colombia. marthalquinones@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Martha L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Quinones
authors.affiliation: Anastasia Mosquito Control District, 500 Old Beach Road, St. Augustine, FL, USA. xueamcd@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rui-De
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigacion Cientifica Caucaseco, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. sherrera@inmuno.org.|School of Health, Valle State University, Cali, Colombia. sherrera@inmuno.org.
authors.forename: Socrates V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigacion Cientifica Caucaseco, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. marevalo@inmuno.org.|School of Health, Valle State University, Cali, Colombia. marevalo@inmuno.org.
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arevalo-Herrera
authors.affiliation: Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA. j.ulrich1@umiami.edu.
authors.forename: Jill N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Ulrich
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA. w.qualls@med.miami.edu.
authors.forename: Whitney A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Qualls
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA. jbeier@med.miami.edu.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Beier
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007843:Latin America / Q000453:epidemiology; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D019371:Topography, Medical