Anticipating future risks of water-related, vector-borne diseases in Africa (HEALTHY FUTURES)
Anticipating future risks of water-related, vector-borne diseases in Africa (HEALTHY FUTURES)
The lives of millions of people and animals living in Africa are detrimentally affected by exposure to multiple infectious diseases including malaria, schistosomiasis and rift-valley fever. Fresh water bodies such as rivers and lakes play an important role in the transmission of these diseases as they support the vectors, including mosquitoes or water-snails, which are responsible for transmission. T
The size of the vector population is tightly governed by the characteristics of the water-bodies. If the water is too cold, breeding and development slow down. If the water flows too quickly, the eggs won't attach to plants, and so on. Conversely, a slight increase in temperature may accelerate breeding and provide better conditions for plants to grow.
Human ecology is also closely tied to the availability and characteristics of water-bodies. In the absence of piped water, households, especially in rural areas, are often built near open water sources. Economic and social conditions affect water availability, usage and quality. An understanding of how human ecology interacts with the environment as it goes through cycles and trajectories of change will be key to planning healthy futures.
The overall aim of the project is to understand how environmental changes, including climate change, might impact on the future health of populations at risk of malaria, rift-valley fever and schistosomiasis. A multidisciplinary consortium of parasitologists, climate-modellers, social scientists and geographers are working together to produce predictive models that will help policy makers with adaptation strategies in the face of future environmental changes.
The consortium have established a website that offers full details about the project: www.healthyfutures.eu
Research Team
Wolfson Fellow: Dr Mark Booth
Other organisations: Trinity College, Dublin; The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste; Paris-Lodron University, Salzburg; Swedish Meteorology and Hydrology Institute, Norrokping; University of Nairobi, Nairobi; International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi; National University of Rwanda, Butare; Stockholm Environment Institute, Dar Es Salaam; Uganda Ministry of Health, Kampala; Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu; Rwanda Ministry of Health, Kigali, University of Cape Town, Cape Town; University of Liverpool, Liverpool
Funder: EU FP7
Dates: Jan 2011- Dec 2014
Keywords: Health, environment, parasitology, climate change, adaptation, water
