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1 December 2016 Climatic, Ecological, and Socioeconomic Factors Associated with West Nile Virus Incidence in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
Graeme Lockaby, Navideh Noori, Wayde Morse, Wayne Zipperer, Latif Kalin, Robin Governo, Rajesh Sawant, Matthew Ricker
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Abstract

The integrated effects of the many risk factors associated with West Nile virus (WNV) incidence are complex and not well understood. We studied an array of risk factors in and around Atlanta, GA, that have been shown to be linked with WNV in other locations. This array was comprehensive and included climate and meteorological metrics, vegetation characteristics, land use / land cover analyses, and socioeconomic factors. Data on mosquito abundance and WNV mosquito infection rates were obtained for 58 sites and covered 2009–2011, a period following the combined storm water - sewer overflow remediation in that city. Risk factors were compared to mosquito abundance and the WNV vector index (VI) using regression analyses individually and in combination. Lagged climate variables, including soil moisture and temperature, were significantly correlated (positively) with vector index as were forest patch size and percent pine composition of patches (both negatively). Socioeconomic factors that were most highly correlated (positively) with the VI included the proportion of low income households and homes built before 1960 and housing density. The model selected through stepwise regression that related risk factors to the VI included (in the order of decreasing influence) proportion of houses built before 1960, percent of pine in patches, and proportion of low income households.

Graeme Lockaby, Navideh Noori, Wayde Morse, Wayne Zipperer, Latif Kalin, Robin Governo, Rajesh Sawant, and Matthew Ricker "Climatic, Ecological, and Socioeconomic Factors Associated with West Nile Virus Incidence in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.," Journal of Vector Ecology 41(2), 232-243, (1 December 2016). https://doi.org/10.1111/jvec.12218
Received: 3 May 2016; Accepted: 1 June 2016; Published: 1 December 2016
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KEYWORDS
climate induced health risk
forest cover loss
socioeconomic health risk
urbanization
water quality
West Nile virus
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