Informing Rift Valley Fever preparedness by mapping seasonally varying environmental suitability.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Rift Valley Fever (RVF) poses a threat to human and animal health throughout much of Africa and the Middle East and has been recognized as a global health security priority and a key preparedness target.

Methods

We combined RVF occurrence data from a systematic literature review with animal notification data from an online database. Using boosted regression trees, we made monthly environmental suitability predictions from January 1995 to December 2016 at a 5 × 5-km resolution throughout regions of Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. We calculated the average number of months per year suitable for transmission, the mean suitability for each calendar month, and the "spillover potential," a measure incorporating suitability with human and livestock populations.

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SUBMITTER: Hardcastle AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7562817 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature