Temperature and population density determine reservoir regions of seasonal persistence in highland malaria.

ABSTRACT: A better understanding of malaria persistence in highly seasonal environments such as highlands and desert fringes requires identifying the factors behind the spatial reservoir of the pathogen in the low season. In these 'unstable' malaria regions, such reservoirs play a critical role by allowing persistence during the low transmission season and therefore, between seasonal outbreaks. In the highlands of East Africa, the most populated epidemic regions in Africa, temperature is expected to be intimately connected to where in space the disease is able to persist because of pronounced altitudinal gradients. Here, we explore other environmental and demographic factors that may contribute to malaria's highland reservoir. We use an extensive spatio-temporal dataset of confirmed monthly Plasmodi

SUBMITTER: Siraj AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4685772 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature