Relationships between yearly malaria incidence and (1) climate data from weather station and (2) satellite-based vegetation health (VH) indices were investigated for prediction of malaria vector activities in Bangladesh. Correlation analysis of percent of malaria cases with Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer- (AVHRR-) based VH indices represented by the vegetation condition index (VCI—moisture condition) and the temperature condition index (TCI—estimates thermal condition) and with rainfall, relative humidity, and temperature from ground-based meteorological stations. Results show that climate data from weather stations are poorly correlated and are not applicable to estimate prevalence in Bangladesh. The study also has shown that AVHRR-based vegetation health (VH) indices are highly applicable for malaria trend assessment and also for the estimation of the total number of malaria cases in Bangladesh for the period of 1992–2001. 1. Introduction Malaria is a known cause of febrile illness in Bangladesh for a long time. Nearly, 200,000 malaria cases are reported each year in Bangladesh for population of 140 millions. This number can fluctuate depending on weather conditions [1–3]. Malaria transmission in Bangladesh is mostly seasonal and limited to the border regions with Myanmar in the east and India in the north (Figure 1). Out of country’s 6 administrative divisions (containing 64 districts), Dhaka, Sylhet, and Chittagong (12 districts) are malaria endemic [4–6]. These 3 divisions contribute nearly 98% of the total Bangladesh malaria morbidity and mortality statistics reported each year [7, 8]. Around 27 million people (20% of the total Bangladesh population) live in malaria endemic area [9, 10]. Figure 1: Geographical map of Bangladesh. 2. Malaria and Climate Three principal environmental factors for mosquito activity and malaria transmission are important: temperature, humidity, and rainfall [11, 12]. Temperatures within the range of 20°C–30°C affect malaria transmissions in several ways: (a) development of Anopheles is shortened (b) biting capacity of mosquitoes is increased, and (c) mosquitoes survive long enough to acquire and transmit the parasite. Temperatures lower than 16°C or higher than 30°C have a negative impact on the growth of the mosquitoes [13]. Mosquitoes breed in water habitats, thus requiring just the right amount of precipitation in order for mosquito breeding to occur. The effect of rainfall on the transmission of malaria is very complicated varying with the circumstances of particular geographic regions and depending on the
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