title: Spatio-temporal analysis of malaria within a transmission season in Bandiagara, Mali.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Heterogeneous patterns of malaria transmission are thought to be driven by factors including host genetics, distance to mosquito breeding sites, housing construction, and socio-behavioural characteristics. Evaluation of local transmission epidemiology to characterize malaria risk is essential for planning malaria control and elimination programmes. The use of geographical information systems (GIS) techniques has been a major asset to this approach. To assess time and space distribution of malaria disease in Bandiagara, Mali, within a transmission season, data were used from an ongoing malaria incidence study that enrolled 300 participants aged under six years old".
  
  
  METHODS
  Children's households were georeferenced using a handheld global position system. Clinical malaria was defined as a positive blood slide for Plasmodium falciparum asexual stages associated with at least one of the following signs: headache, body aches, fever, chills and weakness. Daily rainfall was measured at the local weather station.Landscape features of Bandiagara were obtained from satellite images and field survey. QGIS™ software was used to map malaria cases, affected and non-affected children, and the number of malaria episodes per child in each block of Bandiagara. Clusters of high or low risk were identified under SaTScan(®) software according to a Bernoulli model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From June 2009 to May 2010, 296 clinical malaria cases were recorded. Though clearly temporally related to the rains, Plasmodium falciparum occurrence persisted late in the dry season. Two "hot spots" of malaria transmission also found, notably along the Yamé River, characterized by higher than expected numbers of malaria cases, and high numbers of clinical episodes per child. Conversely, the north-eastern sector of the town had fewer cases despite its proximity to a large body of standing water which was mosquito habitat.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results confirm the existence of a marked spatial heterogeneity of malaria transmission in Bandiagara, providing support for implementation of targeted interventions.
authors: Department of Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Point G, BP 1805, Bamako, Mali. coulibalyd@icermali.org
authors: Drissa
authors: D
authors: Coulibaly
authors: Stanislas
authors: S
authors: Rebaudet
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Travassos
authors: Youssouf
authors: Y
authors: Tolo
authors: Matthew
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authors: Laurens
authors: Abdoulaye K
authors: AK
authors: Kone
authors: Karim
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authors: Traore
authors: Ando
authors: A
authors: Guindo
authors: Issa
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authors: Diarra
authors: Amadou
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authors: Niangaly
authors: Modibo
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authors: Daou
authors: Ahmadou
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authors: Dembele
authors: Mody
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authors: Sissoko
authors: Bourema
authors: B
authors: Kouriba
authors: Nadine
authors: N
authors: Dessay
authors: Jean
authors: J
authors: Gaudart
authors: Renaud
authors: R
authors: Piarroux
authors: Mahamadou A
authors: MA
authors: Thera
authors: Christopher V
authors: CV
authors: Plowe
authors: Ogobara K
authors: OK
authors: Doumbo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D008297:Male; D008302:Mali / Q000453:epidemiology; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D019371:Topography, Medical; D014887:Weather