Impacts of door-to-door mosquito information dissemination during a West nile virus outbreak

Effective public health messaging is an essential component of vector-borne disease prevention and risk reduction. We assessed the impact of West Nile Virus informational flyers targeting an urban neighborhood at elevated risk of transmission during a virus outbreak in Tucson, Arizona in 2006. Of the 50 respondents interviewed, the majority (86%) reported receiving the flyers and about half (46%) reported taking action to prevent mosquito bites after reading the flyers. The main preventive actions taken were using repellant and removing standing water in the yard. It should be noted, however, that all respondents reported learning about West Nile Virus from the news media prior to receiving the flyers. The results suggest that door-to-door distribution of vector information is effective at reaching the public, although during an outbreak, residents are likely to hear the news from other sources.