South-East Asia Regional Conference on Epidemiology

Fig. 1: Distribution of malaria vector species in Indonesia
<strong>South</strong>-<strong>East</strong> <strong>Asia</strong> <strong>Regional</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Epidemiology | 253
Indonesia has a very rich and wide variety of insects as disease vectors, especially mosquitoes. The
present distribution of the members of the family Culicidae, sub-family Anophelinae, corresponds
remarkably well with Wallace’s classification of the regions. Each region has its own characteristic
anopheline fauna with some expectable overlap at the margins of adjacent regions. In terms of
zoogeographical distribution, mosquito species in the western part of Indonesia belongs to Oriental
fauna, though in the eastern part it belongs to Australasian fauna, and in between Wallace’s and
Weber’s in the middle part of Indonesia, is a unique area, i.e. Sulawesi and its surrounding area,
where the fauna is also unique and some of them overlap. The overlap is seen particularly in respect
of the Oriental region, which is not separated from its neighbours to the east and the west by such
insurmountable barriers as oceans or large deserts.
Vector-borne disease surveillance
Effective surveillance and response systems are essential in managing vector-borne diseases, but they
become even more important under conditions of rapid change. These conditions include climatic
shifts as well as increasing rates of movement of, and contact between, humans, pathogens and
vectors. These conditions require improved human health surveillance integrated with monitoring
of climate and other environmental conditions and vector density as well as vectorial capacity that
favours disease outbreaks. Climate change also strengthens the case for reinforcing response systems
for vector-borne disease outbreaks, including predefined action plans and maintenance of the control
resources and personnel capacity necessary to mount effective responses.
Climate, weather and infectious diseases
Both temperature and surface water have important influences on vectors, particularly on mosquito
species, which transmit malaria and viral diseases such as dengue. Temperature affects the
developmental time of different stages of the life-cycle of mosquitoes, feeding rate, gonotrophic cycle