Vector biology, ecology and control

Abstract

The control of mosquitoes and other insect vectors of human pathogens in an area-wide, environmentally and sustainable way is critical to solving global health problems in the developing world but also to industrialized countries that already have in place efficient vector control programs. The rapid spread of West Nile virus through the United States provides one example of how even a highly developed country can be relatively powerless against the spread of mosquito-borne disease. This volume illustrates how the efforts over half a century of a single investigator, Mir S. Mulla, and his students and collaborators have achieved sustainable vector insect control in regions of the world extending from the south-western United States to south-east Asia. These control strategies have been refined over these decades and now are employed in a diversity of ecosystems. Increased public awareness of global health and the importance placed on this for the future well-being of the entire human population makes the deployment and refinement of these strategies even more timely. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010.