U.S.-Ethiopian Effort Will Monitor Malaria Risk
11 November, 2010 | Newswise
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newswise — Controlling malaria in part of Africa may become easier
thanks to an international partnership between U.S. researchers and
colleagues in Ethiopia that uses new tools to monitor risk.
Associate professor Michael Wimberly of South Dakota State
University’s Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence said
the work builds on SDSU’s experience using geospatial tools to study a
different mosquito-borne illness in the United States. Wimberly and his
SDSU colleagues have carried out several studies in recent years
studying West Nile virus outbreaks in South Dakota and the
surrounding region, where the virus that causes the disease is spread
largely by a mosquito called Culex tarsalis.
Malaria is also a mosquito-borne disease. The parasite that causes the
disease is spread by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria
is found in about 109 countries in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. The
World Health Organization estimated that as many as 1 million people
died of malaria in 2008. Most fatalities are in children younger than 5.
The vast majority of cases are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Wimberly said some of the techniques that SDSU geographers use to
study West Nile virus can be deployed to also study malaria in Africa.
“Malaria is a major
public health problem
in Ethiopia, where
outbreaks in highland
regions can be
affected by climatic
variability, land use
change, and seasonal
movements of human
populations,”
Wimberly said. “We
can apply geospatial
technologies,
including geographic
information systems,
or GIS, and satellite
remote sensing to
forecast the spatial
and temporal patterns of malaria risk — where and when outbreaks are
likely to occur.”
Wimberly said the plan depends on a multidisciplinary team that links
scientists who have knowledge of geospatial data and techniques with
public health practitioners who have a detailed understanding of local
needs. Wimberly and his colleagues have developed such a partnership
involving the Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence or
GIScCE at South Dakota State University, the U.S. Geological Survey’
s EROS Center in Sioux Falls, and the Anti-Malaria Association or
AMA, a non-governmental organization located in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia.
“In this partnership, the role of the GIScCE is to develop models for
ecological forecasting of malaria risk using satellite remote sensing, and
the role of the AMA is to facilitate data collection, model validation, and
implementation of the resulting products,” Wimberly said.
The partnership’s preliminary results have documented relationships
between satellite-derived environmental metrics and malaria incidence in
the Ethiopian highlands, confirming the feasibility of malaria risk
mapping and forecasting.
“We have also developed other GIS data products related to land use,
health facility accessibility, transportation, and population
characteristics that may be useful for enhancing malaria prevention
efforts,” Wimberly said. “A key technical challenge in Ethiopia has been
implementing Internet-based mapping technologies in an environment
of low connectivity and low bandwidth. Therefore, another important
aspect of the partnership is developing effective, low-cost, and easy-to-
use methods for providing public health practitioners with access to
digital map products.”
The SDSU scientists’ latest visit to Ethiopia in summer 2010 has
spawned a subproject that will focus on providing baseline geographic
data to health centers in Ethiopia’s Amhara region.
“We’re going to pick 10 woreda, or districts, in the Amhara region and
collaborate with a GIS consulting firm in Ethiopia to generate a number
of paper map products for them,” Wimberly said. This low-tech
exercise will help researchers learn what types of maps are most useful
for malaria prevention and control.
The lessons learned and the tools developed through the ongoing
collaboration between GIScCE and AMA can help to inform and
enhance other global health partnership efforts, he added.
In addition to Wimberly, others involved in the project include
Alemayehu Midekisa, Ting-Wu Chuang, and Geoffrey Henebry, all of
the Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence at South
Dakota State University; Gabriel Senay of the USGS Earth Resources
Observation and Science Center, or EROS Center, in Sioux Falls, S.D.;
and Abere Mihretie and Paulos Semunigus, both of the Anti-Malaria
Association, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Courtesy
11 November, 2010 | Newswise
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newswise — Controlling malaria in part of Africa may become easier
thanks to an international partnership between U.S. researchers and
colleagues in Ethiopia that uses new tools to monitor risk.
Associate professor Michael Wimberly of South Dakota State
University’s Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence said
the work builds on SDSU’s experience using geospatial tools to study a
different mosquito-borne illness in the United States. Wimberly and his
SDSU colleagues have carried out several studies in recent years
studying West Nile virus outbreaks in South Dakota and the
surrounding region, where the virus that causes the disease is spread
largely by a mosquito called Culex tarsalis.
Malaria is also a mosquito-borne disease. The parasite that causes the
disease is spread by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria
is found in about 109 countries in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. The
World Health Organization estimated that as many as 1 million people
died of malaria in 2008. Most fatalities are in children younger than 5.
The vast majority of cases are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Wimberly said some of the techniques that SDSU geographers use to
study West Nile virus can be deployed to also study malaria in Africa.
“Malaria is a major
public health problem
in Ethiopia, where
outbreaks in highland
regions can be
affected by climatic
variability, land use
change, and seasonal
movements of human
populations,”
Wimberly said. “We
can apply geospatial
technologies,
including geographic
information systems,
or GIS, and satellite
remote sensing to
forecast the spatial
and temporal patterns of malaria risk — where and when outbreaks are
likely to occur.”
Wimberly said the plan depends on a multidisciplinary team that links
scientists who have knowledge of geospatial data and techniques with
public health practitioners who have a detailed understanding of local
needs. Wimberly and his colleagues have developed such a partnership
involving the Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence or
GIScCE at South Dakota State University, the U.S. Geological Survey’
s EROS Center in Sioux Falls, and the Anti-Malaria Association or
AMA, a non-governmental organization located in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia.
“In this partnership, the role of the GIScCE is to develop models for
ecological forecasting of malaria risk using satellite remote sensing, and
the role of the AMA is to facilitate data collection, model validation, and
implementation of the resulting products,” Wimberly said.
The partnership’s preliminary results have documented relationships
between satellite-derived environmental metrics and malaria incidence in
the Ethiopian highlands, confirming the feasibility of malaria risk
mapping and forecasting.
“We have also developed other GIS data products related to land use,
health facility accessibility, transportation, and population
characteristics that may be useful for enhancing malaria prevention
efforts,” Wimberly said. “A key technical challenge in Ethiopia has been
implementing Internet-based mapping technologies in an environment
of low connectivity and low bandwidth. Therefore, another important
aspect of the partnership is developing effective, low-cost, and easy-to-
use methods for providing public health practitioners with access to
digital map products.”
The SDSU scientists’ latest visit to Ethiopia in summer 2010 has
spawned a subproject that will focus on providing baseline geographic
data to health centers in Ethiopia’s Amhara region.
“We’re going to pick 10 woreda, or districts, in the Amhara region and
collaborate with a GIS consulting firm in Ethiopia to generate a number
of paper map products for them,” Wimberly said. This low-tech
exercise will help researchers learn what types of maps are most useful
for malaria prevention and control.
The lessons learned and the tools developed through the ongoing
collaboration between GIScCE and AMA can help to inform and
enhance other global health partnership efforts, he added.
In addition to Wimberly, others involved in the project include
Alemayehu Midekisa, Ting-Wu Chuang, and Geoffrey Henebry, all of
the Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence at South
Dakota State University; Gabriel Senay of the USGS Earth Resources
Observation and Science Center, or EROS Center, in Sioux Falls, S.D.;
and Abere Mihretie and Paulos Semunigus, both of the Anti-Malaria
Association, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Courtesy
| All rights reserved. |
| Ethio Quest News Together We Can Make It! |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Ethio Quest News: For latest Ethiopian News, views, Reviews and More |
| Health The Africans Human Rights Democratic Path Environment Light of Eve Education Spotlight Blah Blah Quotables Links |
| One man's quest to build a hospital ( The Age ) "..But Mr Ahmed harbours a grander vision, one that has embraced an entire town in Ethiopia and inspired support from around the world." More |
| Ethiopia sounds alarm over new malaria prone areas By Desalegne Sisay Malaria mortality declines in Ethiopia International Health Research Ethiopia Has Halved Malaria Deaths in Just Three Years The Global Fund Ethiopia Prepares For Battle With Malaria VOA UNICEF and WHO join forces to save children in Ethiopia By Desalegne Sisay Ambitious Campaign Targets Tackling High Child Mortality Rate Binyam Tamene |
| Mike Wimberly This aerial photo shows some of the terrain in which U.S. and Ethiopian researchers plan to use new geographic information system tools, or GIS, to monitor malaria risk. |