Follow-up of zoonotic landscapes under deforestation and land-use changes in the Amazon

Abstract

Vector-borne diseases are causes of morbidity and mortality globally, with clustered transmission being an important challenge in elimination efforts. Co-endemicity and co-infections from Malaria, Chagas Disease, and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis are suspected mechanisms that likely contribute to the persistent hidden transmission burden from vector-borne diseases in the Brazilian Amazon. Our proposal integrates GIS modelling, remote sensing technologies with human parasite incidence/insect vector infectivity levels of Plasmodium spp., Trypanosoma spp., and Leishmania spp. human-vectoral transmission among landscape-sites with varying deforestation levels and timelines to better understand sustained transmission cycles. By working closely with key community stakeholders, capacity building will be a secondary benefit that will support future studies locally. Our overall hypothesis states that deforestation and land-use changes result in high vector-borne disease incidence risk and that human Malaria cases are co-occurring with common local and neglected chronic parasites (Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp.). We will employ a prospective, 5-yrs. follow-up study of fine-scale landscape sites (n=40) which are under environmental changes and that annually report symptomatic cases of Malaria, Chagas Disease, and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in local children and adults in the Santa Luzia rural settlement, Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre state, Brazil. We will collect human and insect samples and test them for parasite infection and assess relationships between parasite infection and deforestation levels. By identifying the role that co-occurring infections play in Amazonian transmission cycles, we can tailor public health efforts accordingly. Our main goal is to develop a score guideline to efficiently identify actions and scenarios with decreased transmission of vector-borne diseases to human and animal populations. (AU)