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Programme de bourses "Echanges Universitaires"

Climatic suitability mapping of schistosomiasis risk in sub-Saharan Africa

Schistosomiasis is a neglected parasitic disease affecting around 200 million people worldwide. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for approximately 85% of the disease burden. Schistosomiasis transmission depends on the distribution and abundance of fresh water snails which are the intermediate host of the parasites causing the disease and they are sensitive to environmental and climatic conditions. Control efforts require baseline maps of disease burden to guide interventions at high risk areas. An empirical map of schistosomiasis transmission in Africa is not currently available due to lack of a comprehensive database on disease survey data with continent wide coverage. However, a disease risk map based on climatic conditions suitable for snail survival can be readily obtained. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) used with remotely sensed climate data can predict areas that are highly likely to host the schistosomiasis snail-parasite system. When analyzed in conjunction with demographic data, this approach can assist health planners channel their intervention efforts straight into predicted high risk areas. The objective of this project is to obtain a schistosomiasis risk map in Africa based on environmental conditions favoring transmission. Climatic remote sensing data representing Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation index (NDVI) together with elevation are being downloaded from appropriate internet archiving sites and collected at the GIS node complementing the huge collections that are already available at the Swiss Tropical Institute (STI) in Basel. In addition, we are building a database by compiling schistosomiasis risk data in Africa extracted from published and unpublished sources. These efforts are part of a larger European Union (EU) funded project, with the acronym CONTRAST, aiming to optimize schistosomiasis control and transmission surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa.

Preliminary Prevelance Distribution

Contact

Gabriel Mushinge
CONTRAST PROJECT GIS NODE
University of Zambia School of Medicine
Department of Community Medicine
50110, Lusaka Zambia
Tel: +260 21 125-2681
Fax: +260 21 125-2641
Email: contrast@zamnet.zm

Konstantina Boutsika
Department of Public Health and Epidemiology
Swiss Tropical Institute
P.O. Box
CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 61 294-8142
Fax: +41 61 284-8105
E-mail: konstantina.boutsika@unibas.ch


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		Programme de bourses "Echanges Universitaires" Climatic suitability mapping of schistosomiasis risk in sub-Saharan Africa Schistosomiasis is a neglected parasitic disease affecting around 200 million people worldwide. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for approximately 85% of the disease burden. Schistosomiasis transmission depends on the distribution and abundance of fresh water snails which are the intermediate host of the parasites causing the disease and they are sensitive to environmental and climatic conditions. Control efforts require baseline maps of disease burden to guide interventions at high risk areas. An empirical map of schistosomiasis transmission in Africa is not currently available due to lack of a comprehensive database on disease survey data with continent wide coverage. However, a disease risk map based on climatic conditions suitable for snail survival can be readily obtained. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) used with remotely sensed climate data can predict areas that are highly likely to host the schistosomiasis snail-parasite system. When analyzed in conjunction with demographic data, this approach can assist health planners channel their intervention efforts straight into predicted high risk areas. The objective of this project is to obtain a schistosomiasis risk map in Africa based on environmental conditions favoring transmission. Climatic remote sensing data representing Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation index (NDVI) together with elevation are being downloaded from appropriate internet archiving sites and collected at the GIS node complementing the huge collections that are already available at the Swiss Tropical Institute (STI) in Basel. In addition, we are building a database by compiling schistosomiasis risk data in Africa extracted from published and unpublished sources. These efforts are part of a larger European Union (EU) funded project, with the acronym CONTRAST, aiming to optimize schistosomiasis control and transmission surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa. Contact Gabriel Mushinge CONTRAST PROJECT GIS NODE University of Zambia School of Medicine Department of Community Medicine 50110, Lusaka Zambia Tel: +260 21 125-2681 Fax: +260 21 125-2641 Email: contrast@zamnet.zm Konstantina Boutsika Department of Public Health and Epidemiology Swiss Tropical Institute P.O. Box CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland Tel.: +41 61 294-8142 Fax: +41 61 284-8105 E-mail: konstantina.boutsika@unibas.ch