Protecting Public Health - A review of Local Council Mosquito Surveillance Program
An effective mosquito surveillance program plays an integral role in mosquito management and is undertaken to monitor mosquito populations in a given area. Surveillance allows pest and vector mosquito species to be identified and also provides a means to monitor abundance and fluctuations in populations over time and ultimately, prevent mosquito borne diseases.
A metropolitan council identified the need for a review of their mosquito surveillance program to identify potential mosquito breeding sites as well as the species of mosquitoes that affect different parts of their City. Healthy Environs was engaged to undertake this review by investigating the City’s waterways, stormwater catchments and local natural environments to inform and update the current surveillance program of any new potential breeding sites.
This review was undertaken by our team members with the public health and environmental research experience, during the peak mosquito breeding season throughout September 2021 through to April 2022 and incorporated:
A desktop review of council’s current surveillance areas, including reviewing recent infrastructure changes and using programs such as Google Earth and Maps to identify potential new breeding habitats.
Field work, in accordance with our field protocols, at identified locations to search for mosquito adults and larvae. Adult mosquitoes were caught using dry ice baited adult mosquito traps, counted and identified to species in partnership with an approved laboratory. Mosquito larvae were surveyed using a dipper. The dipper was ‘dipped’ into a water source and larvae were collected and counted. Trapping and survey records were maintained for all locations
Analysis, review and reporting of surveillance results and the development of recommendations to inform Council’s mosquito surveillance and treatment program for ongoing effective mosquito management.
