Cohort of zoonotic landscapes under the effect of deforestation and changes in land use in the Amazon- Phase 2

Vector-borne diseases are causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, representing a major challenge in efforts to elimination. Co-infections of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, Chagas disease and tegumentary leishmaniasis are persistent in the Brazilian Amazon. The work will be done closely with key community stakeholders and thus local capacity building will be a benefit long-lasting that will support future studies locally. The general hypothesis is that deforestation and changes in land use result in high risk of incidence of vector-borne diseases and that cases of malaria are co-occurring with chronic and neglected parasites (Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp.).

A prospective 5-year follow-up study of fine-scale landscapes (n=40) will be employed that are exposed to environmental changes and that generate cases of malaria, Chagas disease, tegumentary leishmaniasis annually in children and adults in a rural settlement, Cruzeiro do Sul, State of Acre, Brazil. Then human and insect samples will be collected and tested for molecular markers of the parasites and assess relationships between levels of infection and deforestation to contribute to public health and conservation policies.

Project details

Epidemiology
Modeling

Jan 2022

Brazil