Identification of parasite-host habitats in Anxiang county, Hunan Province, China based on multi-temporal China-Brazil earth resources satellite (CBERS) images.
Remote sensing is a promising technique for monitoring the distribution and dynamics of various vector-borne diseases. In this study, we used the multi-temporal CBERS images, obtained free of charge, to predict the habitats of the snail Oncomelania hupensis, the sole intermediate host of schistosomiasis japonica, a snail-borne parasitic disease of considerable public health in China. Areas of suitable snail habitats were identified based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the normalized difference water index (NDWI), and the predictive model was tested against sites (snails present or absent) that were surveyed directly for O. hupensis. The model performed well (sensitivity and specificity were 63.64% and 78.09%, respectively), and with further development, we may provide an accurate, inexpensive tool for the broad-scale monitoring and control of schistosomiasis, and other similar vector-borne diseases.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. epistat@gmail.com
Zhijie
Z
Zhang
Robert
R
Bergquist
Dongmei
D
Chen
Baodong
B
Yao
Zengliang
Z
Wang
Jie
J
Gao
Qingwu
Q
Jiang
D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002681:China; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010271:Parasites / Q000502:physiology*; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D045483:Rivers; D017215:Satellite Communications; D012621:Seasons; D012908:Snails / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology; D013997:Time Factors; D014867:Water
D014867:Water