Local human movement patterns and land use impact exposure to zoonotic malaria in Malaysian Borneo

Fornace, K. M. et al. (2019) Local human movement patterns and land use impact exposure to zoonotic malaria in Malaysian Borneo. eLife, 8, e47602. (doi: 10.7554/elife.47602) (PMID:31638575) (PMCID:PMC6814363)

Abstract

Human movement into insect vector and wildlife reservoir habitats determines zoonotic disease risks; however, few data are available to quantify the impact of land use on pathogen transmission. Here, we utilise GPS tracking devices and novel applications of ecological methods to develop fine-scale models of human space use relative to land cover to assess exposure to the zoonotic malaria Plasmodium knowlesi in Malaysian Borneo. Combining data with spatially explicit models of mosquito biting rates, we demonstrate the role of individual heterogeneities in local space use in disease exposure. At a community level, our data indicate that areas close to both secondary forest and houses have the highest probability of human P. knowlesi exposure, providing quantitative evidence for the importance of ecotones. Despite higher biting rates in forests, incorporating human movement and space use into exposure estimates illustrates the importance of intensified interactions between pathogens, insect vectors and people around habitat edges.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Fornace, Dr Kimberly and Ferguson, Professor Heather

Creator Roles

Ferguson, H.: Methodology, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Fornace, K. M., Alexander, N., Abidin, T. R., Brock, P. M., Chua, T. H., Vythilingam, I., Ferguson, H. M., Manin, B. O., Wong, M. L., Ng, S. H., Cox, J., and Drakeley, C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: eLife
• Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications
• ISSN: 2050-084X
• ISSN (Online): 2050-084X
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 Fornace et al.
• First Published: First published in eLife 8:e47602
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
167761		Defining the biomedical, environmental and social risk factors for human infection with Plasmodium knowlesi	Heather Ferguson	Medical Research Council (MRC)	G1100796/1	Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine