title: Meteorological variability and infectious disease in Central Africa: a review of meteorological data quality.
abstract: Central African countries may bear high climate change-related infectious disease burdens because of preexisting high rates of disease, poor healthcare infrastructure, land use changes, and high environmental change vulnerabilities. However, making connections between climate and infectious diseases in this region is hampered by the paucity of high-quality meteorological data. This review analyzes the sources and quality of meteorological data used to study the interactions between weather and infectious diseases in Central African countries. Results show that 23% of studies used meteorological data that mismatched with the disease spatial scale of interest. Use of inappropriate weather data was most frequently identified in analyses using meteorological station data or gridded data products. These findings have implications for the interpretation of existing analyses and provide guidance for the use of climate data in future analyses of the connections between meteorology and infectious diseases in Central Africa.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heaney
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Eliza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Little
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Sophia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shaman
mesh_terms: D000350:Africa, Central / Q000453:epidemiology; D057231:Climate Change / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000068598:Data Accuracy; D006801:Humans; D008685:Meteorological Concepts; D017215:Satellite Communications / Q000592:standards; D014887:Weather
keywords: Central Africa; climate; data quality; infectious disease