Wind direction and proximity to larval sites determines malaria risk in Kilifi District in Kenya

Janet T. Midega (), Dave L. Smith, Ally Olotu, Joseph M. Mwangangi, Joseph G. Nzovu, Juliana Wambua, George Nyangweso, Charles M. Mbogo, George K. Christophides, Kevin Marsh and Philip Bejon
Additional contact information
Janet T. Midega: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research – Coast, PO Box 230, Kilifi 80108, Kenya.
Dave L. Smith: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Ally Olotu: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research – Coast, PO Box 230, Kilifi 80108, Kenya.
Joseph M. Mwangangi: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research – Coast, PO Box 230, Kilifi 80108, Kenya.
Joseph G. Nzovu: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research – Coast, PO Box 230, Kilifi 80108, Kenya.
Juliana Wambua: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research – Coast, PO Box 230, Kilifi 80108, Kenya.
George Nyangweso: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research – Coast, PO Box 230, Kilifi 80108, Kenya.
Charles M. Mbogo: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research – Coast, PO Box 230, Kilifi 80108, Kenya.
George K. Christophides: Imperial College London, South Kensington campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
Kevin Marsh: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research – Coast, PO Box 230, Kilifi 80108, Kenya.
Philip Bejon: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research – Coast, PO Box 230, Kilifi 80108, Kenya.

Nature Communications, 2012, vol. 3, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Studies of the fine-scale spatial epidemiology of malaria consistently identify malaria hotspots, comprising clusters of homesteads at high transmission intensity. These hotspots sustain transmission, and may be targeted by malaria-control programmes. Here we describe the spatial relationship between the location of Anopheles larval sites and human malaria infection in a cohort study of 642 children, aged 1–10-years-old. Our data suggest that proximity to larval sites predict human malaria infection, when homesteads are upwind of larval sites, but not when homesteads are downwind of larval sites. We conclude that following oviposition, female Anophelines fly upwind in search for human hosts and, thus, malaria transmission may be disrupted by targeting vector larval sites in close proximity, and downwind to malaria hotspots.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1672

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