Development of risk maps to minimize uranium exposures in the Navajo Churchrock mining district
Decades of improper disposal of uranium-mining wastes on the Navajo Nation has resulted in adverse human and ecological health impacts as well as socio-cultural problems. As the Navajo people become increasingly aware of the contamination problems, there is a need to develop a risk-communication strategy to properly inform tribal members of the extent and severity of the health risks.
Researchers developed GIS-based thematic maps as communication tools to clearly identify high risk exposure areas and offer alternatives to minimize public and ecological health impacts. The maps show the location and quality of unregulated water resources and identify regulated water sources that could be used as alternatives. In addition, the maps show the location of contaminated soil and sediment areas in which disturbance of surface deposits should be avoided. The maps, in the end, helped to make suggestions for improvements for the area. It is predicted that once the maps are presented to the public, water hauling and soil use behaviors will change, and dialogue with chapter officials will be initiated to accelerate further risk reduction efforts.
To learn more about this study, please view this link.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Coordinator, VERTICES, LLC
Disease Tracking for Indonesia
As apart of the Australian Aid Agency (AusAid) Australian Leadership Awards Fellowships (ALAF) program fourteen veterinarians from Indonesia are learning how to track and stop the spread of animal borne diseases in a three-week training program hosted by the University of Sydney. The aim if the program is to equip Indonesian veterinary epidemiologists with important skills to improve surveillance, detection and monitoring of animal borne diseases.
While in Australia, they will learn about the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Camden before heading to Canberra to visit the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry. They will then travel to the Gold Coast for the Science Week conference of the Epidemiology Chapter of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists and finally to Orange to be hosted by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and trained in risk management in animal health. This training adds to our ability to identify disease and also to look at methods for managing animal disease. As an NGO working in this field, it is believed they can be the bridge between Government and the community by training people at home in Indonesia to learn these skills.
To learn more about this study, please view this link: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Vets-learn-how-to-track-disease.aspx
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Coordinator, VERTICES, LLC
Mapping project may link alcohol, social problems
Some officials at the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council of Jefferson County Inc., in Northern New York, think they may have found a new way to gather information relating alcohol availability to health, criminal and social problems.
The agency along with other community agencies and organizations are using geographic information system mapping to examine the density of alcohol outlets in the north country and compare that data with various social, criminal and health-related trends.
One of the most beneficial aspects of using this technology is that you are able to target and focus interventions. The GIS mapping system will find where hot spots are so that officials will know where increased police patrols are needed because the map will show where there are both a high density of alcohol outlets and high incidences of alcohol-related problems.
To learn more about this study, please view this link: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20090624/NEWS03/306249977.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Coordinator, VERTICES, LLC
Are Ducks Contributing to the Endemicity of Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Influenza Virus in Asia?
Wild aquatic birds, including ducks, are the natural reservoir of influenza type A viruses and play an important role in the viruses’ ecology and propagation. Influenza A viruses can occasionally be transmitted to other avian and mammalian hosts, including humans, and can cause outbreaks of severe disease. Influenza viruses in wild aquatic birds have long been in a state of evolutionary equilibrium (stasis), and infected hosts usually show no signs of disease. Most avian influenza viruses replicate preferentially in the gastrointestinal tract of wild ducks, are excreted at high levels in feces, and are transmitted through the fecal-oral route .
However, since late 2002, H5N1 outbreaks in Asia have resulted in mortality among waterfowl in recreational parks, domestic flocks, and wild migratory birds, which contradicts the previous belief that influenza A viruses are usually nonpathogenic to the Wild waterfowl. The evolutionary stasis between influenza virus and its natural host may have been disrupted, prompting us to ask whether waterfowl are resistant to H5N1 influenza virus disease and whether they can still act as a reservoir for these viruses. To better understand the biology of H5N1 viruses in ducks and attempt to answer this question, researchers inoculated juvenile mallards with 23 different H5N1 influenza viruses isolated in Asia between 2003 and 2004. All virus isolates replicated efficiently in inoculated ducks, and 22 were transmitted to susceptible contacts. Viruses replicated to higher levels in the trachea than in the cloaca of both inoculated and contact birds, suggesting that the digestive tract is not the main site of H5N1 influenza virus replication in ducks and that the fecal-oral route may no longer be the main transmission path. The virus isolates’ pathogenicities varied from completely nonpathogenic to highly lethal and were positively correlated with tracheal virus titers. Nevertheless, the eight virus isolates that were nonpathogenic in ducks replicated and transmitted efficiently to naïve contacts, suggesting that highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses causing minimal signs of disease in ducks can propagate silently and efficiently among domestic and wild ducks in Asia and that they represent a serious threat to human and veterinary public health.
To learn more about this study, please view the in depth analysis.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
A spatial risk assessment of West Nile virus in British Columbia
The spread of the West Nile virus in North America and human cases in British Columbia's surrounding provinces/states.
West Nile virus has recently emerged as a health threat to the North American population after the initial disease outbreak in New York City in 1999. Since then, West Nile virus has spread widely and quickly across North America.
In this study researchers developed models of mosquito populations and created a spatial risk assessment of West Nile virus prior to its arrival in British Columbia by creating a raster-based mosquito abundance model using basic geographic and temperature data.
The result of the spatially-explicit mosquito abundance model indicates that the Okanagan Valley, the Thompson Region, Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and southeastern Vancouver Island have the highest potential abundance of the mosquitoes. After including human population data, Greater Vancouver, due to its high population density, increases in significance relative to the other areas.
Creating a raster-based mosquito abundance map enabled researchers to quantitatively evaluate West Nile virus risk throughout British Columbia and to identify the areas of greatest potential risk, prior to West Nile virus introduction. In producing the map knowledge related to mosquito ecology in British Columbia were identified and it became evident that increased efforts in bird and mosquito surveillance are required if more accurate models and maps are to be produced. Also access to real time climatic data is key for developing a real time early warning system for forecasting vector borne disease outbreaks, while including social factors is important when producing a detailed assessment in urban areas.
To learn more about this study, please view the in depth analysis.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
The Russian Influenza in Sweden in 1889-90
Viruses have changed history and are linked to the deaths of hundreds of millions of people over time. They have caused old diseases, such as Yellow Fever, Small Pox and influenza and they are also the cause of emerging diseases, including West Nile virus illness, Dengue fever and HIV/AIDS. The spatial patterns of viruses are often of key interest for control and surveillance.
Lars Skog, from the Royal Institute of Technology, took the time to explain The Russian Influenza in Sweden in 1889-90 at the second annual URISA: GIS in Public Health Conference. From the speech we learned that using data from a study of the 1889-90 Russian flu in Sweden with the application of Geographic Information System (GIS) allowed researchers to improve analyses and presentation of surveillance data. In 1890, immediately after the outbreak, all Swedish doctors were asked to provide information about the start and the peak of the epidemic, and the total number of cases in their region and to fill in a questionnaire on the number, sex and age of infected persons in the households they visited. General answers on the epidemic were received from 398 physicians and data on individual patients were available for more than 32,000 persons. These historic data were all reanalyzed with the use of GIS, in map documents and in animated video sequences, to depict the onset, the intensity and the spread of the disease over time. Having prepared GIS layers of the population (divided into parishes), estimations could be made for all the Swedish parishes on the number of infected persons for each of the 15 weeks studied.
To learn more about this subject matter, please view the indepth analysis.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
2009 URISA/NENA Addressing Conference
2009 URISA/NENA Addressing Conference
August 4-6, 2009
Providence, Rhode Island
Topics for the conference include: Addressing Basics, Coordination, and Standards, which focuses on both the automated and manual aspects and phases associated with administering addresses, including the new FGDC Street Address Data Standard, and preparation for the 2010 Census and LUCA (Local Update of Census Addresses) program. Sessions within this track will provide insight on topics including identifying standards, developing documentation and policy, establishing workflow, collecting inventory and issuing citations.
Emergency Response and 9-1-1 is another topic that will be presented at the program that will focus on projects at the local, state, and Federal levels of effective emergency response using GIS. Presentations in this track demonstrate what is possible when two powerful technologies collaborate for informed emergency response.
Case Studies of GIS Integration with Public Safety will be the final topic discussed and it will focus on presentations from real-life experiences in integration of GIS and public safety technologies; what works and what doesn’t.
For more information or to register, Click Here !
Interested in Exhibiting or Sponsoring? Click Here!
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Emerging Zoonotic Diseases and the Need for Global Surveillance
Corrie Brown, DVM, PhD
Dr. Corrie Brown, DVM, PhD, Coordinator of International Veterinary Medicine for the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia, provided the opening keynote address on Saturday, June 6 at the URISA second annual GIS in Public Health Conference on the topic of: Emerging Zoonotic Diseases and the Need for Global Surveillance.
As keynote speaker, Dr. Brown highlighted key ideas valuable to the world of global infectious disease challenges. Dr. Brown took time to discuss how globalization is changing epidemiology. Because there is an increase in globalized trade and travel between countries, there is becoming less separation of people, animals, and places. Because of this, emerging effects include the spreading of animal and human diseases, e.g., SARS, HPAI, Nipah, BSE. These emerging zoonotic diseases pose a great threat to the world.
Dr. Brown also spent time describing the three “steps” to battling disease in a global context. These steps include each country addressing: (1) surveillance, which refers to “keeping an eye out” for recurring or new disease, (2) will to report, which refers to a country’s decision to formally announce that disease has been found within the country’s borders, and (3) capacity to respond, which involves all sorts of response efforts from education to treatment.
Dr. Brown also informed that the concept of “one medicine,” which has been discussed for decades, has special resonance now, and it is imperative that awareness and response systems between animal and human health be coordinated and integrated, in order to effectively safeguard the global public health.
To learn more, check out this link.
Also take a look at this presentation that relates to the talk she gave at the conference.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Grenada government turns away cruise ship with suspected flu virus
I recently came upon a post where Grenada’s Ministry of Health recently refused cruise ship passengers to dock at their St George’s Port. The M.V Ocean Dream was said to be carrying as many as 40 passengers and crew who were experiencing flu-like symptoms. Grenada’s action came just days after the WHO declared H1N1, which has spread to 74 countries, as a global flu pandemic. Rising cases of the virus are being seen in the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and Chile.
H1N1 flu first emerged in Mexico in April. Grenada immediately set up screening at the seaport and at Maurice Bishop and International Airport.
Grenada’s ability to deal with the H1N1 virus is becoming a great concern. The Ministry of Health continues its educational program on ways to prevent the virus which is good, but if there is a medical emergency, there exists a shortage of respirators at the island’s main medical center. In fact, there is only one respirator and if there is a medical scare on the island with the virus, the hospital would not be able to treat cases.
To learn more, view the three related articles posted here.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Improving Catastrophe Preparedness
This is another example of a scenario that could be used for plan C
A new computer model incorporating a wider range of variables can foster better outcomes in large-scale emergency situations. PLAN C is an agent-based modeling approach that allows researchers to assess both individual and system-wide effects in public health disasters. Its purpose is to help evaluate both explicit tracing of individual behavior and macroscopic analysis of population trends in catastrophic events, the researchers said. The model integrates dose response, surge response, and psychosocial characteristics — an appropriate amount of complexity, factual data, timeliness, and functionality.
To test the PLAN C model in a hypothetical scenario, the nerve agent sarin was released in three locations in New York City: the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Grand Central Terminal, and Penn Station. The evaluation looked at emergency medical services, hospital surge capacity, and behavioral and psychosocial characteristics of the victims — particularly patient “worry” using GIS technology. The researchers found that in a passive release of sarin ranging from 5 to 15 L, mortality increased from 0.13% to 8.69%, reaching 55.4% with active dispersion.
The increase in mortality rate was most pronounced in the 80% to 100% emergency department occupancy range and adverse psychosocial characteristics — such as excess worry and low compliance — increased demands on healthcare resources. Further work is needed to address theoretical and computational limitations, refinement, and the integration of additional parameters of interests, other participants in disaster response, alternative hazard scenarios, and consequences of model overfitting.
To learn more, read the full article here.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Third New Jersey resident dies with swine flu
A 10-year-old boy is the third New Jersey resident with H1N1 influenza to die. The child, who had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized June 14 after developing a cough and fever. He died Wednesday at Morristown Memorial Hospital.
New Jersey currently has 415 confirmed cases of the novel flu virus in 19 counties, with 252 probable cases awaiting confirmatory testing by the state laboratory.
Two other two New Jersey residents to die with H1N1 influenza were a 49-year-old West Orange man, Michael Reiser, who died June 13 at Mountainside Hospital in Glen Ridge, and a 15-year-old boy who died June 8 at home in Somerset County.
Some symptoms of H1N1 influenza — fever, body ache, cough, sore throat, chills, fatigue, and in some cases diarrhea and vomiting — are similar to those of seasonal flu.
State epidemiologist Christina Tan has said people with conditions including weakened immune systems and respiratory ailments are more likely to develop severe cases of H1N1 influenza.
The virus, recently declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, has now reached 88 countries. On Wednesday the WHO reported 39,620 cases have been confirmed worldwide, included 167 deaths. The United States has reported 17,855 confirmed cases with 44 deaths, according to the WHO.
The best way for people to protect themselves is to practice good hygiene. People are advised to cover sneezes and coughs with a tissue, wash hands frequently with soap and water or hand sanitizer, and stay home from work or school for a week if experiencing a fever of 100 degrees or higher with a cough or sore throat.
To learn more, view the Full Star-Ledger coverage of the Swine flu in New Jersey
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
HIV in Colorado
Just because an illness isn’t too common in an area doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t know about it. This is one of the main reasons why northeastern Colorado residents had the opportunity to attend a Community HIV/AIDS Education and Action Conference hosted by Rural Solutions recently.
Speakers spoke about HIV in rural America as well as HIV in northeast Colorado. Speakers let it be known that an estimated 51,000 people in rural areas are living with HIV or AIDS. HIV risk factors more common in rural areas, including: a decreased likelihood of using condoms, people being more likely to believe their partners don’t have HIV or STD’s and high alcohol and methamphetamine use.
Jack Westfall, associate dean of rural health at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, talks about HIV in northeast Colorado.
It is common knowledge for residents that there isn’t a lot known about HIV/AIDS in eastern Colorado. People don’t usually talk about the issue in the area and found it was something that was glossed over. Usually it is thought of as either not a problem in the community or it’s a problem but no more than normal. I t is really hidden and secret, and the people in the area just don’t know about it and don’t talk about it.
This problem that exists needs to be fixed. Hiding HIV and hiding risk factors increases the transmission of HIV. The secrecy inhibits people from accessing HIV and safe sex education. One of the first steps in dealing with this issue is getting a group of people together to identify what are the needs, what are the priorities and what resources are there to address these needs. Increasing awareness and decreasing the stigma through education will greatly help the cause. This can also help with the development of a surveillance system and plan for who will be testing and who will be reporting, along with a plan in case of an outbreak.
For more information, please check out the full article at http://www.journal-advocate.com/news/2009/jun/16/conference-seeks-increase-hiv-awareness/
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Remove a Dam = More Fish?
Association Watershed Association Science Director Peggy Savage at the Weston Causeway Dam, one of two dams the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association is studying to see if their removal can help migratory fish like the American shad.
Will removing two dams along the Millstone River help restore migratory fish to this important waterway? This is a big question for the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, central New Jersey’s first environmental group.
Thanks to a recent grant from the NOAA, the Watershed Association has launched a study to determine whether it’s feasible to remove two dams from the river, thereby opening up 14 river miles to migrating fish and recreational users between Lake Carnegie and Manville, near the confluence of the Millstone and Raritan Rivers.
The aim is to restore the ecological integrity of the Millstone River, re-establishing the equilibrium between river flow and sediment flow while allowing the river to meander and naturally create habitat for fish and other aquatic species.
The Watershed Association’s feasibility study will determine the safety of removing or breaching the dams by investigating the sediments upstream of the dams and looking for potential contamination that might need to be addressed. The Watershed Association will also be studying the likely effects of removing the dams on water levels in the river. Future storm water levels will be predicted to determine if flooding would be more or less likely after dam removal.
To learn more visit www.thewatershed.org
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
GIS in Public Health Post URISA Conference Website
Ever wanted to know what you miss at the URISA: GIS in Public Health conference every year? Well there is a site that can inform you! The site gives insight to the happenings at the conference and allows you to view pictures, presentations, video, and much more so that you feel as if you were there!! The site is currently being updated, but if you also went to the conference and have information to share, feel free to contact Vertices, LLC!
For more information, please take a look at the site here.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Swine Flu: Level 6!
So in case you have not been keeping up with recent reports, the WHO as well as the U.N. health officials have just announced and declared this week that Swine Flu is formally a pandemic. Because of this, there will be a speed up of vaccination production as well as government spending in order to combat the issue.
The announcement doesn’t mean that the virus is any more lethal, but only that its spread is considered unstoppable. Since the flu was first detected in late April in Mexico and the United States, swine flu has reached 74 countries, infecting nearly 29,000 people.
WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan (who is featured in the video above) made the long-awaited declaration after the U.N. agency held an emergency meeting with flu experts and said she was moving to phase 6 — the agency’s highest alert level — which means a pandemic is under way.
Scientists have grown to understand that the virus is generally not much more severe than the seasonal flu. So far, swine flu has caused 144 deaths, compared with ordinary flu that kills up to 500,000 people a year.But the virus can still be deadly and may change into a more frightening form in the near future, and so people should not be complacent.
For those of you wanting to keep track of the spread of the flu around the world, check out the sites below:
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MSNBC – Flash Map showing cases of Swine Flu.
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Google Earth – Dots shown on Google Earth that update over time.
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Google Maps – Maps Showing locations of Flu
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PandemicFlu.gov – The title says it all
For more information, please check out the full article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/un_un_swine_flu
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Community Visioning website!
There is a very interesting site called Community Visioning that caught my attention the other day. Basically the site focuses on using public participation for input in the planning process. Through workshops, surveys, and other means, interested citizens and stakeholders have the opportunity to guide the community’s future. Using these methods, the public provides critical information to the officials and planning professionals which is used to create a Community Vision.
With Community Visioning, the public is given the opportunity to bring issues and ideas to light that may have been overlooked by the professionals or officials. In the end, it gives the public a chance to feel as though they are apart of the final project because they will be involved throughout the entire planning process and it will also enhance their trust and support for planning initiatives by allowing them to be involved in the decisions.
Please look through the website for more information about Community Visioning and if you have any questions or to find out how you can get involved in this exciting process please feel free to contact VERTICES.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
The Impact of climate information to make better decisions for health-care planning and disease prevention
Now that the world’s attention is focused on climate change, it is essential for the health community to better understand the role climate plays in determining the fundamentals of health – air, water and food – as well as its role as a driver of specific outcomes related to infectious disease. Because of this, at Columbia University, 12 public-health professionals and climate scientists from ten countries are visiting the campus, where the International Research Institute for Climate and Society is based, to learn how to use climate information and GIS to make better decisions for health-care planning and disease prevention.
This type of study is useful because, for example, extreme weather events or prolonged droughts are often associated with negative outcomes but by understanding climate and its associated impacts and potential predictability, decision makers can start responding proactively to climate challenges. And in some situations, can even get ahead of the game.
For more information, please visit the SI2009 home page.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Vector Control Programme in Jamaica
The Vector Control Unit of the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Jamaica has made continual efforts to map the entire island for vectors in communities across the island. Some communities, because of their locations, are at a higher risk of individuals contracting or becoming infected by vector borne illnesses, such as malaria or dengue, so help is needed to control the issue. But because so many people are needed to cover all of the need areas for monitoring, the MOH has come up with the idea of using an exchange of labor for learning.
The Corps programme, under the National Youth Service (NYS) division, is one of the programs developed to effectively address many of the social issues facing young people in Jamaica. Through training, re-socialization and work experience, participants can be placed in the program to become Vector Control Facilitators. The youngsters become apart of a public health team to go out in communities and collect the data. Then identified areas can be taken care of in terms of treatment. GIS training is also given to the youngsters so that further analysis can be done on the data collected. Over 300 youngsters have participated in the program and work within each parish and in the various communities. The program has been effective and has helped to screen over 94,000 households on the island.
For more information, please read the full article here.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Navigate Virtual Earth With Nintendo Wii
Video: Wiimote Interface for Virtual Earth
Who could ever figure that Wii could be used for more than just games? Now explore the world with this function that was discovered!
WiiEarth — Wiimote Interface for Virtual Earth
Normally this control is loaded via the web browser and allows interaction with a keyboard, mouse, and Xbox 360 controller. In this article, we will take the Virtual Earth control out of the web browser, use it in a WinForms application, and control it with a Nintendo Wii Remote (Wiimote).
For more information about Wii, please check out http://wii.com/
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Nintento Wii for fitness
Americans are obsessed with their weight. Everywhere around us we see billboards and news stands and even grocery isles encouraging our weight loss fixation. Not to mention we’re constantly reminded that our increasingly sedentary lifestyles are contributing to record ranks of overweight and obese citizens.
Nintendo had the right idea when they unleashed their slew of games catered to fitness. Wii Fit sells itself as an all-in-one home fitness solution that will get the whole family exercising on a regular basis, no matter how lazy. With a menu of yoga, aerobics, strength training and balance games, it’s hard to argue with the concept. It sounds crazy but it actually is quite possible to work up a sweat playing games like Wii Tennis because you literally have to act as if you swinging a racket at a tennis ball. There is even talk of people getting “Wii elbow” from this game! It just shows how involved you have to be to play! And while it wasn’t intended as a fitness regimen, one fan lost nine pounds over six weeks playing “Wii Sports” for 30 minutes a day. This is truly inspirational to all those people out there struggling to lose weight. Now there is a fun and easier way to get the same job as taking a walk around your neighborhood.
For more information, please take a look at the full article.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Woodbridge Walkability Audit a Huge Success!!
Press the Map to be brought to interactive site!!
The Walkability Audit for Woodbridge Township on May 30, 2009 turned out to be a big success. Over 300 parents, teachers and children took part in the first-ever “Woodbridge Walkability” tour, an event that had volunteer groups walk a quarter-mile radius around all 16 township elementary schools to conduct fieldwork to access how safe nearby walking and biking routes are for children.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Reducing brown snake bites with GIS
Check this Out!! Press for link!!
On average one to four people die from snake bite in Australia each year, with many more needing hospitalization and treatment with antivenom. The eastern brown snake, which accounts for the majority of snake-bite related deaths in Australia, is regularly encountered by people at the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) in Canberra. Past attempts to reduce the risks associated with this species’ habitation of the ANBG have been hampered by a lack of information about the snake population. Therefore, between spring 2006 and autumn 2008 staff implanted passive integrated transponders into eight adult snakes (4 male and 4 female snakes). Data was collected on snake demographics, activity ranges, ‘hot spot’ areas, foraging behavior, and shelter sites. This information was analyzed using GIS technology. Using GIS allowed for rangers to establish the minimum number of snakes inhabiting the site. This information is critically important as it allows staff to identify any changes to the snake population that may occur over time and to alter any risk management strategies accordingly. Also mapping the overlapping range areas has allowed rangers to identify and then target ‘snake hotspot’ areas with specific management activities.
By making an effort to understand the characteristics of the resident snake population, rangers hope to be able to continue to protect human life while at the same time conserving the ANBG’s eastern brown snake population.
For more information, please take a look at the study here.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
Meningitis Epidemics in Africa
Africa’s Sahel region has the greatest incidence of meningitis. Some factors attributing to the epidemic have been found to be population susceptibility, introduction of new strains, poor living conditions, and concurrent infections. Epidemics occur throughout Africa in the dry season, coincide with periods of very low humidity and dusty conditions, and disappear with the onset of the rains, suggesting that these environmental factors may also play an important role in the occurrence of the disease.
Since the timing of future outbreaks is unpredictable, tools that identify the key environmental factors associated with areas prone to meningitis epidemics, such as GIS, are helpful to understanding the basis for these outbreaks and can eventually optimize prevention and control activities.
Analysis done from the study indicates not only that absolute humidity profiles and land-cover types can be used to distinguish between areas with high and low risk of epidemics but also that population density and dust may also be implicated. The potential role of dust in precipitating epidemics is particularly interesting since dustiness in the meningitis belt has increased dramatically since the Sahelian droughts of the 1970s and 1980s. However, how environmental variables interact is unclear and remains the subject of extensive climatologic research. A combination of conditions is likely to be necessary for an epidemic to occur, and nonenvironmental variables are likely to have additional predictive potential and should be considered in further studies.
For more information, please read the full study here.
Melissa Lawrence, Social Marketing Administrator, VERTICES, LLC
