Impacts of Deforestation on Childhood Malaria Depend on Wealth and Vector Biology.

ABSTRACT: Ecosystem change can profoundly affect human well-being and health, including through changes in exposure to vector-borne diseases. Deforestation has increased human exposure to mosquito vectors and malaria risk in Africa, but there is little understanding of how socioeconomic and ecological factors influence the relationship between deforestation and malaria risk. We examined these interrelationships in six sub-Saharan African countries using demographic and health survey data linked to remotely sensed environmental variables for 11,746 children under 5 years old. We found that the relationship between deforestation and malaria prevalence varies by wealth levels. Deforestation is associated with increased malaria prevalence in the poorest households, but there was not significantly increa

SUBMITTER: Estifanos TK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10902572 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature