Remote sensing and human health: New sensors and new opportunities

Since the launch of Landsat-1 28 years ago, remotely sensed data have been used to map features on the earth's surface. An increasing number of health studies have used remotely sensed data for monitoring, surveillance, or ri sk mapping, particularly of vector-borne diseases. Nearly all studies used data from Landsat, the French Systeme Pour I'Observation de la Terre, and t he National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Advanced Very High Res olution Radiometer. New sensor systems are in orbit, or soon to be launched , whose data may prove useful for characterizing and monitoring the spatial and temporal patterns of infectious diseases. Increased computing power an d spatial modeling capabilities of geographic information systems could ext end the use of remote sensing beyond the research community into operationa l disease surveillance and control. This article illustrates how remotely s ensed data have been used in health applications and assesses earth-observi ng satellites that could detect and map environmental variables related to the distribution of vector-borne and other diseases.