Characterizing mobility patterns and malaria risk factors in semi-nomadic populations of Northern Kenya

Bibliographic Data

ID19594013
AuthorsHannah R Meredith (0000-0002-5315-7568, Duke Institute for Health Innovation, corresponding author), Amy Wesolowski (0000-0001-6320-3575, Johns Hopkins University, corresponding author), Dennis Okoth (corresponding author), Linda Maraga (AMPATH, corresponding author), George Ambani (AMPATH, corresponding author), Tabitha Chepkwony (AMPATH, corresponding author), Lucy Abel (0000-0001-5857-1269, AMPATH, corresponding author), Joseph Kipkoech Kirui (0000-0001-5833-7608), Joseph Kipkoech (AMPATH, corresponding author), Gilchrist Lokoel (corresponding author), Daniel Esimit (0000-0001-5279-5085, corresponding author), Samuel Lokemer (corresponding author), James Maragia, James Marcomic Maragia (corresponding author), Wendy Prudhomme O’meara (0000-0001-9455-3965, Moi University, corresponding author), Andrew Obala (0000-0003-3730-5484, Moi University, corresponding author), Andrew A Obala
EditorsAbhinav Sinha (0000-0001-7702-3671)
Year2024
Volume4
Issue3
Pagese0002750
Publication date2024-03-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePLOS Global Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2767-3375 • E-ISSN: 2767-3375
PublisherPublic Library of Science (PLoS) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1371/journal.pgph.0002750
PMID38478562
OpenAlexW4392763148
LanguageEN
References cited39

While many studies have characterized mobility patterns and disease dynamics of settled populations, few have focused on more mobile populations. Highly mobile groups are often at higher disease risk due to their regular movement that may increase the variability of their environments, reduce their access to health care, and limit the number of intervention strategies suitable for their lifestyles. Quantifying the movements and their associated disease risks will be key to developing interventions more suitable for mobile populations. Turkana, Kenya is an ideal setting to characterize these relationships. While the vast, semi-arid county has a large mobile population (>60%) and was recently shown to have endemic malaria, the relationship between mobility and malaria risk in this region has not yet been defined. Here, we worked with 250 semi-nomadic households from four communities in Central Turkana to 1) characterize mobility patterns of travelers and 2) test the hypothesis that semi-nomadic individuals are at greater risk of malaria exposure when migrating with their herds than when staying at their semi-permanent settlements. Participants provided medical and travel histories, demographics, and a dried blood spot for malaria testing before and after the travel period. Further, a subset of travelers was given GPS loggers to document their routes. Four travel patterns emerged from the logger data, Long Term, Transient, Day trip, and Static, with only Long Term and Transient trips being associated with malaria cases detected in individuals who carried GPS devices. After completing their trips, travelers had a higher prevalence of malaria than those who remained at the household (9.2% vs 4.4%), regardless of gender and age. These findings highlight the need to develop intervention strategies amenable to mobile lifestyles that can ultimately help prevent the transmission of malaria

Environmental health · Geographic mobility · Geography · Malaria · Population · Psychological intervention · Socioeconomics · TRIPS architecture · Computer Science · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Demography · Malaria Research and Control · Medicine · Mosquito-borne diseases and control