Summary
In
recent years, several vector-borne, parasitic or zoonotic diseases
have emerged or re-emerged in different parts of the world, with major
public health, socio-economic and political consequences. Emergence
of these diseases is linked to climatic change, human-induced landscape
changes and human activities that have affected disease ecology. The
authors illustrate geographic information system-based approaches
to understand epidemiological processes and predict disease patterns.
Continent-wide approaches are used to explore vector and host distributions
and identify areas where substantial changes in vector and vector-borne
disease distributions have occurred. Time series of high-resolution
satellite data and locally collected data reveal the spatial relationships
between factors impacting disease dynamics. Using Rift Valley fever
as a case study, a conceptual approach is proposed to integrate all
of these data and to identify key parameters for disease modelling.
Some of the challenges posed by different spatial and temporal scales
of the biological processes and associated indicators are highlighted.
Keywords
Early
warning, EDEN, Emerging disease, Environment, Model, Rift Valley
fever, Satellite.
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