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Sandy A. Johnson, PhD, College of Pharmacy, Division of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xavier University of Louisiana, 1 Drexel Drive, Suite 422, New Orleans, LA 70125, 504-520-6732, sajohnso@xula.edu and Richard Campanella, MS, Center for Bioenvironmental Research, Tulane University, 202 Alcee Fortier Hall, New Orleans, LA 70118.
How does urban development impact vector-borne disease? This has been a central question in public health and development policy. Typically, the interaction is assessed by looking at quantifiable changes in disease occurrence and comparing these numbers to anecdotally described environmental change. Now, with the growing availability and cost-effectiveness of using remotely sensed imagery, geographic information systems and spatial analysis techniques, it is possible to identify and measure landscape features related to disease, and track their modification over time. This provides a stronger scientific basis to explore the interaction between development and disease. This research investigated the relationship between development and malaria vis-à-vis environmental and social change in a southeastern province of the Dominican Republic in the 1990s. In this period, high economic growth paralleled an alarming rise in malaria. The researchers utilized satellite imagery from 1988 and 1999 to classify land use categories, the applied geospatial and statistical methodology to examine longitudinal trends in human malaria cases in relation to land use, land use change over time, and socio-economic variables. Findings were interpreted through an anthropological framework. Results show that the urban construction process, which precedes tourism development, creates environmental and social change that heightens the malaria risk to the proximal communities. The level and type of risk posed is distinct from that experienced by agriculturally-based communities over the same period. Implications for development and health policy will be discussed.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to
Keywords: Geographic Information Systems, Infectious Diseases
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.