Spatiotemporal distribution of malaria associated with enviromental variables in Argentina

DANTUR JURI, M. J.; CLAPS, G.; SANTANA, M.; ZAIDENBERG, M. AND MUREB SALLUM, M.A.

New Delhi, India

Congreso; International Scientific Meeting “Recent Developments in Malaria Research”; 2010

International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology

Malaria is one of the most important tropical diseases affecting people around the world. The fluctuation patterns of malaria and the influence of environmental variables on it could determine the emergence or re-emergence of the disease. In the present study a temporal malaria series from 1989 until 2009 from four provinces of Argentina, Salta and Jujuy (northwestern region) and Misiones and Corrientes (northeastern region) was used. The apparition of malaria cases in relation to climatic conditions was analysed with Random Effect Poisson Regression. This analysis takes into consideration the effect of each climatic variable on the malaria cases apparition. 12603 malaria cases were reported, out of which 9727 were cited for Salta and 1304 for Jujuy (northwesrtern Argentina) and 1351 for Misiones and 12 for Corrientes (northeastern Argentina). In 1990 and 1996 marked peaks were observed in the northwestern region, later decreasing until now. In the northeast, there were two important peaks in Misiones (1991 and 2007) and only one in Corrientes in 1996. Malaria cases were influenced by mean annual temperature and accumulated annual rainfall. Therefore, the malaria annual incidence decreases when these variables increase. The present research is the first report for Argentina concerning the effect of temperature and accumulated rainfall on malaria dynamics that enables the determination of impact of the environment on the appearance and abundance of the disease.