title: Pokémon Go and Exposure to Mosquito-Borne Diseases: How Not to Catch 'Em All.
abstract: Pokémon Gois a new game that encourages players to venture outdoors and interact with others in the pursuit of virtualPokémoncharacters. With more time spent outdoors overall and in sometimes large congregations,Pokémon Goplayers could inadvertently elevate their risk of exposure to mosquito-borne diseases when playing in certain areas at certain times of year. Here, we make an initial assessment of the possible scope of this concern in the continental United States, which experiences its highest seasonal transmission of West Nile, Zika, and other viruses during summer and early fall. In particular, we propose that the times of day when many disease-relevant mosquito species are most likely to engage in blood feeding coincide with times of day whenPokémon Goactivity is likely to be high, and we note that locations serving as hubs ofPokémon Goactivity may in some cases overlap with areas where these mosquitoes are actively engaged in blood feeding. Although the risk of mosquito-borne diseases in the continental U.S. is low overall and is unlikely to be impacted significantly byPokémon Go, it is nonetheless important forPokémon Goplayers and others who spend time outdoors engaging in activities such as barbecues and gardening to be aware of these ongoing risks and to take appropriate preventative measures in light of the potential for outdoor activity to modify individual-level risk of exposure. AsPokémon Goand other augmented reality games become available in other parts of the world, similar risks should be assessed in a manner that is consistent with the local epidemiology of mosquito-borne diseases in those areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Oidtman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Christofferson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Quirine A
authors.initials: QA
authors.lastname: Ten Bosch
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Espana
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Moritz U G
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Kraemer
authors.affiliation: WorldPop, Department of Geography and Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom; Flowminder Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tatem
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: T Alex
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Perkins