Geospatial tools for the identification of a malaria corridor in Estado Sucre, a Venezuelan north-eastern state

Submitted: 18 December 2014
Accepted: 18 December 2014
Published: 1 May 2011
Abstract Views: 2131
PDF: 740
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Landscape ecology research relies on frameworks based on geographical information systems (GIS), geostatistics and spatial-feature relationships. With regard to health, the approach consists of systems analysis using a set of powerful tools aimed at the reduction of community vulnerability through improved public policies. The north-oriental malaria focus, one of five such foci in Venezuela, situated in the north-eastern part of the Estado Sucre state, unites several social and environmental features and functions as an epidemiological corridor, i.e. an endemic zone characterised by permanent interaction between the mosquito vector and the human host allowing a continuous persistence of the malaria lifecycle. A GIS was developed based on official cartography with thematic overlays depicting malaria distribution, socio-economic conditions, basic environmental information and specific features associated with the natural wetlands present in the area. Generally, malaria foci are continuously active but when the malaria situation was modelled in the north-oriental focus, a differential, spatio-temporal distribution pattern situation was found, i.e. a situation oscillating between very active and dormant transmission. This pattern was displayed by spatial and statistical analysis based on the model generated in this study and the results were confirmed by municipal and county malaria records. Control of malaria, keeping the incidence at a permanently low level within the regional population, should be possible if these results are taken into account when designing and implementing epidemiological surveillance policies.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

How to Cite

Delgado-Petrocelli, L., Camardiel, A., Aguilar, V. H., Martinez, N., Còrdova, K., & Ramos, S. (2011). Geospatial tools for the identification of a malaria corridor in Estado Sucre, a Venezuelan north-eastern state. Geospatial Health, 5(2), 169–176. https://doi.org/10.4081/gh.2011.168

List of Cited By :

Crossref logo