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A Practical Philosophy of Vector Control in the U. S. A.

As indicated by the title, this article deals with the control of vectors. None of its content applies to the eradication of any vector species, which involves quite different criteria.

According to one dictionary, a vector is an "organism, usually an insect, which carries and transmits disease-causing organisms." This definition is what has come to be known as the classic definition of a vector.

Some 20 years ago the number of arthropod species which had been incriminated in the transmission of various infections of man in this country, and hence were classic vectors, was rather lengthy. But from the standpoint of control, interest was chiefly centered on only four species, all insects. These were the house fly and three mosquito species: Aedes aegypti, Anopheles quadrimaculatus and Anopheles freeborni.

The vectorial status of these four species was clear-cut. A. quadrimaculatus not only could, but did, transmit malaria at the rate of hundreds of thousands of cases annually.