Chambers Samuel N, Tabor Joseph A
School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
Geospat Health. 2018 Nov 9;13(2). doi: 10.4081/gh.2018.670.
Historically leishmaniasis is most prevalent in established urban centres but this research shows that refugees and, most significantly, internally displaced persons are now commonly in areas characterized by the presence of fly habitats potentially leading to higher prominence of Leishmania infection. Areas engulfed by the Syrian civil war has thus caused the dispersal of humans into previously unpopulated areas amid habitats of the sand fly Phlebotomus papatasi that hosts the parasite Leishmania. The addition of new places of exposure to this disease add to difficulties with respect to diagnosis as well as provision of care and treatment. We used geospatial methodology adapting it to remotely identifying and analyzing sand fly habitats with the aim of measuring how common it is. Our methodology helps avoid the issue of resolution in satellite imagery by measuring likelihood rather than strictly known locations. We followed up this information with spatial analysis identifying which civilian populations are most prone to sand fly exposure, and therefore leishmaniasis, due to their geographical situation. Our results suggest that those most likely to be exposed to Leishmania are internally displaced persons, those camps less likely to receive medical relief and typically having temporary residents migrating elsewhere.
从历史上看，利什曼病在已有的城市中心最为普遍，但这项研究表明，难民，最重要的是境内流离失所者，现在通常处于存在苍蝇栖息地的地区，这可能导致利什曼原虫感染更为突出。叙利亚内战所波及的地区，导致人们分散到先前无人居住的地区，而这些地区恰是传播寄生虫利什曼原虫的巴氏白蛉的栖息地。新增的这种疾病暴露场所，给诊断以及护理和治疗带来了困难。我们采用地理空间方法，对其进行调整以远程识别和分析白蛉栖息地，目的是衡量其普遍程度。我们的方法通过测量可能性而非严格的已知位置，有助于避免卫星图像中的分辨率问题。我们随后进行了空间分析，确定哪些平民群体由于其地理位置最容易接触白蛉，进而最容易感染利什曼病。我们的结果表明，最有可能接触利什曼原虫的是境内流离失所者，这些营地不太可能获得医疗救助，通常还有临时居民迁移到其他地方。
