Landscape Controls Parasitic Disease Transmission in Central China

摘要

The laval stage of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis causes the rare but fatal liver disease Human Aleveolar Echinococcosis (AE). The tapeworm is transmitted in a predator-prey cycle between foxes (or dogs) and a range of small mammal species and is restricted to specific landscape conditions. HAE is endemic in parts of central China with prevalence rates of up to 15% in some villages. This paper describes how remotely sensed data have been used to develop spatially explicit risk maps for the disease based on landscape characterization. The results show that the proximity of grassland or shrubland areas to human - settlements, derived from the remotely sensed data, was a major risk factor for HAE related to the spatial distribution of suitable habitat for the small mammal intermediate hosts.