The creation of water reservoirs in regions of unstable malaria transmissionoften results in intensified malaria. Our work investigated the dynamics of thisrelationship around the Koka reservoir in Ethiopia. We first identified the degree towhich malaria transmission is greater near the reservoir. We then determined that i) thegreater malaria transmission resulted from greater mosquito abundance and ii) the mostimportant mosquito larvae breeding site was the reservoir shoreline. Finally, wedetermined a relationship between rates of water level change and success of larvaldevelopment, with subsequent consequences for malaria case-rates. These findings haveimportant implications for dam operation. The potential exists to modify the operation ofthe dam to greatly improve public health in the region, although inevitably there aretrade-offs with other reservoir objectives.
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