Landscape Epidemiology, GIS and Spatial Statistics:

Training Sessions in Field and Analytical Methods

OVERVIEW
The goal of this session was to introduce students to the School’s capabilities in information technology and management through a focused exercise in landscape epidemiology. Dr. Durland Fish, Professor of Epidemiology, designed the session’s  field component. The Co-Directors of this program were Dr. Paul Draghi, Director of Information and Library Systems and Lecturer in Forest History at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and Dr. Russell Barbour, Research Associate in the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health.

 
OBJECTIVE

     Infectious diseases are important processes in many ecosystems. Microbial pathogens can have a regulatory effect upon host populations of both plants and animals, and in extreme situations can drastically modify the landscape (for example, chestnut blight in North America, and rabbit myxoma virus in Australia).
     Infectious diseases are of considerable concern to the human population as well, and several new diseases have recently emerged that are characteristic of specific ecosystems where humans may become infected. As with all living organisms, pathogens have ecological constraints that determine their distribution and abundance in the environment.
 

"Hot Zone" Field Tent
     Most people are familiar with Lyme disease, caused by the spirochete bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted by the deer tick Ixodes scapularis which has been established in Connecticut since the 1970's. Human risk for contracting Lyme disease is dependent upon contact with infected ticks which is spatially dependent upon landscape features that support both deer, the reproductive host of I. scapularis, and the white-footed mouse, the reservoir host of B. burgdorferi. Similarly, human risk for mosquito-borne Eastern equine encephalitis and West Nile Virus is dependent upon landscape features that support aquatic habitats for vector mosquitoes and avian reservoir hosts for encephalitis viruses. The purpose of this training module was to introduce students to the concept of landscape epidemiology and to the methods used to study human risk for vector-borne diseases. Students became familiar with three distinct methods of analyzing field data: traditional statistics, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial statistics.
 
 

STUDENT FIELD ACTIVITIES
 
     Under the direction of Dr. Fish, students learned the basic methods of field collection of vector arthopods. These methods include flagging for ticks, trapping rodents, human baiting, and the use of light and CO2 traps for the collection of mosquitoes. 

Setting Light Traps

Setting Mouse Traps

Collecting Ticks

      Dr. Barbour assisted in demonstrating mapping methods and spatial modeling of the data collected in computer exercises.

Setting Transects

Collecting Mosquitoes

Collecting Vital Statistics

      Students were also instructed on appropriate biosafety measures for procedures that involve risk of exposure to human pathogens.

    Dark field microscopy was used to determine infection rates for ticks infected with B. burgdorferi bacteria. 

Anesthetizing Mice
Inspecting for Ticks

Mosquito Identification Lab

 

ANALYTICAL METHODS

Paul Draghi and Russell Barbour introduced students to the computer and software capabilities that are available at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. This included ARCView, the most widely used GIS software, Hampson-Russell GEOSTAT, a spatial statistics software package and several other parametric statistical software packages. The analytical component of this session was conducted in the FES GIS Lab in Sage Hall room 31.
 
 
 

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