Estimating air temperature and its influence on malaria transmission across Africa.

Malaria transmission is strongly influenced by climatic conditions which determine the abundance and seasonal dynamics of the Anopheles vector. In particular, water temperature influences larval development rates whereas air temperature determines adult longevity as well as the rate of parasite deve...

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Main Authors: Tini Garske, Neil M Ferguson, Azra C Ghani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056487
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author Tini Garske
Neil M Ferguson
Azra C Ghani
author_facet Tini Garske
Neil M Ferguson
Azra C Ghani
author_sort Tini Garske
collection DOAJ
description Malaria transmission is strongly influenced by climatic conditions which determine the abundance and seasonal dynamics of the Anopheles vector. In particular, water temperature influences larval development rates whereas air temperature determines adult longevity as well as the rate of parasite development within the adult mosquito. Although data on land surface temperature exist at a spatial resolution of approximately 1 km globally with four time steps per day, comparable data are not currently available for air temperature. In order to address this gap and demonstrate the importance of using the right type of temperature data, we fitted simple models of the relationship between land-surface and air temperature at lower resolution to obtain a high resolution estimate of air temperature across Africa. We then used these estimates to calculate some crucial malaria transmission parameters that strongly depend on air temperatures. Our results demonstrate substantial differences between air and surface temperatures that impact temperature-based maps of areas suitable for transmission. We present high resolution maps of the malaria transmission parameters driven by air temperature and their seasonal variation. The fitted air temperature datasets are made publicly available alongside this publication.
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institution Kabale University
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publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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spelling doaj-art-e5b7a3c8d7a94371b3b1c04428dc09e62025-08-20T03:45:47ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0182e5648710.1371/journal.pone.0056487Estimating air temperature and its influence on malaria transmission across Africa.Tini GarskeNeil M FergusonAzra C GhaniMalaria transmission is strongly influenced by climatic conditions which determine the abundance and seasonal dynamics of the Anopheles vector. In particular, water temperature influences larval development rates whereas air temperature determines adult longevity as well as the rate of parasite development within the adult mosquito. Although data on land surface temperature exist at a spatial resolution of approximately 1 km globally with four time steps per day, comparable data are not currently available for air temperature. In order to address this gap and demonstrate the importance of using the right type of temperature data, we fitted simple models of the relationship between land-surface and air temperature at lower resolution to obtain a high resolution estimate of air temperature across Africa. We then used these estimates to calculate some crucial malaria transmission parameters that strongly depend on air temperatures. Our results demonstrate substantial differences between air and surface temperatures that impact temperature-based maps of areas suitable for transmission. We present high resolution maps of the malaria transmission parameters driven by air temperature and their seasonal variation. The fitted air temperature datasets are made publicly available alongside this publication.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056487
spellingShingle Tini Garske
Neil M Ferguson
Azra C Ghani
Estimating air temperature and its influence on malaria transmission across Africa.
PLoS ONE
title Estimating air temperature and its influence on malaria transmission across Africa.
title_full Estimating air temperature and its influence on malaria transmission across Africa.
title_fullStr Estimating air temperature and its influence on malaria transmission across Africa.
title_full_unstemmed Estimating air temperature and its influence on malaria transmission across Africa.
title_short Estimating air temperature and its influence on malaria transmission across Africa.
title_sort estimating air temperature and its influence on malaria transmission across africa
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056487
work_keys_str_mv AT tinigarske estimatingairtemperatureanditsinfluenceonmalariatransmissionacrossafrica
AT neilmferguson estimatingairtemperatureanditsinfluenceonmalariatransmissionacrossafrica
AT azracghani estimatingairtemperatureanditsinfluenceonmalariatransmissionacrossafrica