%0 Journal Article
%T Malaria resurgence risk in southern Europe: climate assessment in an historically endemic area of rice fields at the Mediterranean shore of Spain
%A Sandra Sainz-Elipe
%A Jose Latorre
%A Raul Escosa
%A Montserrat Masi¨¤
%A Marius Fuentes
%A Santiago Mas-Coma
%A Maria Bargues
%J Malaria Journal
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1475-2875-9-221
%X The transmission risk was assessed analysing: 1) climate diagrams including the minimum temperature for Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax development; 2) monthly evolution of the Gradient Model Risk (GMR) index, specifying transmission risk period and number of potential Plasmodium generations; 3) ecological characteristics using remote sensing images with the Eurasia Land Cover characteristics database and the monthly evolution of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI); 4) evaluation of A. atroparvus population dynamics.Climatological analyses and GMR index show that a transmission risk presently exists, lasting from May until September for P. falciparum, and from May until October for P. vivax. The GMR index shows that the temperature increase does not actually mean a transmission risk increase if accompanied by a precipitation decrease reducing the number of parasite generations and transmission period. Nevertheless, this limitation is offset by the artificial flooding of the rice fields. Maximum NDVI values and A. atroparvus maximum abundance correspond to months with maximum growth of the rice fields.The Ebro Delta presents the ecological characteristics that favour transmission. The temperature increase has favoured a widening of the monthly potential transmission window with respect to when malaria was endemic. The combined application of modified climate diagrams and GMR index, together with spatial characterization conforms a useful tool for assessing potential areas at risk of malaria resurgence. NDVI is a good marker when dealing with a rice field area.Change of climate factors and other variables related to environmental modifications included within the broad term of global change have a proven impact on the transmission of infectious diseases [1,2], caused by different types of infectious organisms including microparasites (viruses, bacteria, rickettsia and protozoans) and also, as very recently proved, metazoan macroparasites (helm
%U http://www.malariajournal.com/content/9/1/221