Sectioning of zoonotic landscapes under the effect of deforestation and changes in land use in the Amazon

Vector-borne diseases are causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, representing a major challenge in elimination efforts. Co-infections of vector-borne diseases such as Malaria, Chagas Disease and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis are persistent in the Brazilian Amazon. Our proposal integrates geoprocessing modeling and remote sensing technologies with incidence of human parasites and infectivity levels of Plasmodium spp., Trypanosoma spp. and Leishmania spp. in landscape locations with various levels and evolutions of deforestation to better understand persistent cycles of transmission. The project will be collaborating closely with key community stakeholders, so building local capacity will be a lasting benefit that will support future studies locally. The general hypothesis is that deforestation and changes in land use result in a high risk of incidence of vector-borne diseases and that cases of Malaria are occurring concurrently with chronic and neglected parasites (Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp.). A prospective 5-year follow-up study of fine-scale landscapes will be employed (n=40) that are exposed to environmental changes and that annually generate cases of Malaria, Chagas Disease, Tegumentary Leishmaniasis in children and adults in a rural settlement, Cruzeiro do South, State of Acre, Brazil. Human and insect samples will be collected and tested  for parasite molecular markers and assess relationships between levels of infection and deforestation to inform public health and conservation policy. 

Project details

Vector Control

Mar 2022 — Feb 2027

Brazil