temporal analyses of arboviruses. tagging cases or breeding sites geographically has allowed for deeper examination of vector transmission. to see the epidemiology of specific arboviruses, the following resources hold maps, fact sheets, and reports on arboviruses and arboviral epidemics. resource description link world health organization the who compiles studies and maps of the distribution, risk factors, and prevention of specific viruses. the who also hosts denguenet, a database which can be queried about dengue cases. http://www.who.int/en/ cdc arbonet dynamic map this interactive map is created by usgs using data from the cdc arbonet. it provides distribution maps of cases in humans and vectors in the united states. https://web.archive.org/web/20161215234534/http://diseasemaps.usgs.gov/mapviewer/ center for disease control arbocatalog the arbocatalog documents probable arboviruses recorded by the center for disease control, and provides detailed information about the viruses. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/arbocat/default.aspx history yearevent 1800sdengue fever epidemics occur globally 1898–1914first large scale effort to prevent arbovirus infection takes place in florida, havana, and the panama canal zone 1901first arbovirus, the yellow fever virus, is discovered 1906dengue fever transmission is discovered 1936tick-borne encephalitis virus is discovered 1937yellow fever vaccine is invented 1937west nile virus is discovered 1950sjapanese encephalitis vaccines are invented 1980sinsecticide treated mosquito nets are developed 1999west nile virus reaches the western hemisphere late 1900sdengue fever spreads globally arboviruses were not known to exist until the rise of modern medicine, with the germ theory and an understanding that viruses were distinct from other microorganisms. the connection between arthropods and disease was not postulated until 1881 when cuban doctor and scientist carlos finlay proposed that yellow fever may be transmitted by mosquitoes instead of human contact, a reality that was verified by major walter reed in 1901. the primary vector, aedes aegypti, had spread globally from the 15th to the 19th centuries as a result of globalization and the slave trade. this geographic spreading caused dengue fever epidemics throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, and later, in 1906, transmission by the aedes mosquitoes was confirmed, making yellow fever and dengue fever the first two diseases known to be caused by viruses. thomas milton rivers published the first clear description of a virus as distinct from a bacterium in 1927. the discovery of the west nile virus came in 1937, and has since been found in culex populations causing epidemics throughout africa, the middle east, and europe. the virus was introduced into the western hemisphere in 1999, sparking a series of epidemics. during the latter half of the 20th century, dengue fever reemerged as a global disease, with the virus spreading geographically due to urbanization, population growth, increased international travel, and global warming, and continues to cause at least 50 million infections per year, making dengue fever the most common and clinically important arboviral disease. yellow fever, alongside malaria, was a major obstacle in the construction of the panama canal. french supervision of the project in the 1880s was unsuccessful because of these diseases, forcing the abandonment of the project in 1889. during the american effort to construct the canal in the early 1900s, william c. gorgas, the chief sanitary officer of havana, was tasked with overseeing the health of the workers. he had past success in eradicating the disease in florida and havana by reducing mosquito populations through draining nearby pools of water, cutting grass, applying oil to the edges of ponds and swamps to kill larvae, and capturing adult mosquitoes that remained indoors during the daytime. joseph augustin leprince, the chief sanitary inspector of the canal zone, invented the first commercial larvicide, a mixture of carbolic acid, resin, and caustic soda, to be used throughout the canal zone. the combined implementation of these sanitation measures led to a dramatic decline in the number of workers dying and the eventual eradication of yellow fever in the canal zone as well as the containment of malaria during the 10-year construction period. because of the success of these methods at preventing disease, they were adopted and improved upon in other regions of the world.