Urban mosquito distributions are modulated by socioeconomic status and environmental traits in the USA

Abstract

The distribution of mosquitoes and associated vector diseases (e.g., West Nile, dengue, and Zika viruses) is likely to be a function of environmental conditions in the landscape. Urban environments are highly heterogeneous in the amount of vegetation, standing water, and concrete structures covering the land at a given time, each having the capacity to influence mosquito abundance and disease transmission. Previous research suggests that socioeconomic status is correlated with the ecology of the landscape, with lower-income neighborhoods generally having more concrete structures and standing water via residential abandonment, garbage dumps, and inadequate sewage. Whether these socioecological factors affect mosquito distributions across urban environments in the USA remains unclear. Here, we present a meta-analysis of 42 paired observations from 18 articles testing how socioeconomic status relates to the overall mosquito burden in urban landscapes in the USA. We also analyzed how socioecological covariates (e.g., abandoned buildings, vegetation, education, and garbage containers) varied across socioeconomic status in the same mosquito studies. The meta-analysis revealed that lower-income neighborhoods (regions with median household incomes