Meningitis in the Sahel

Projects

Overview

Frequent outbreaks of meningitis during the dry season in sub-Saharan Africa may be related to wind-blown dust that inundates villages like this and causes respiratory and nasal problems among residents. RAL scientists have developed a prototype decision support system that integrates weather and health data to provide information that can be used to contain the spread of meningitis epidemics.

Meningitis is a swelling of the brain and spinal cord with a variety of symptoms that can lead to prolonged illness and death. Epidemics of meningitis occur frequently in sub-Saharan Africa during the dry season. RAL scientists have developed a prototype Earth-gauging system that integrates weather and health data to manage meningitis across the African Sahel. This decision-support system integrates two- to 14-day weather forecasts and epidemiological data to provide actionable information that can be used to contain the spread of meningitis epidemics. Particularly, the system is being used to inform officials from the World Health Organization about the spatial variability of meningitis risk, so that scarce vaccine can be distributed to the regions of highest risk for meningitis. Local-scale work is being performed through partnerships in Ghana to better understand the disease burden and to verify the decision-support system.

Funding:

Resources

Dukic, V. and M. Hayden, A. Adams Forgor, T. Hopson, P. Akweongo, A. Hodgson, A. Monaghan , C. Wiedinmyer, T. Yoksas, M. Thomson, S. Trzaska, and R. Pandya, 2012: The role of weather in meningitis outbreaks in Navrongo, Ghana: A Generalized Additive Modeling Approach. J. Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Stats., doi: 10.1007/s13253-012-0095-9.

Seefeldt, M.W., T.M. Hopson, and T.T. Warner, 2012: A Characterization of the Variation in Relative Humidity across West Africa during the Dry Season. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 51, 2077–2089.

Hayden MH, Dalaba M, Akweongo P, Awine T, Nyaaba G, Anaseba D, Pelzman J, Hodgson A, and Pandya R. (2013) Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Related to Meningitis in Northern Ghana. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 89:265-270.

Akweongo P, Dalaba MA, Hayden MH, Awine T, Nyaaba GN, Anaseba D, Hodgson A and Pandya, R. (2013) The economic burden of Meningitis to households in the Kassena-Nankana District of Northern Ghana. PLOS ONE http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079880

Abdussalam, A.F., A.J. Monaghan, V.M. Dukic, M.H. Hayden, T.M. Hopson, and G.C. Leckebusch, and J. Thornes. Climate influences on the interannual variability of meningitis incidence in northwest Nigeria. (2014) Wea. Clim. Soc., 6, 62-76. DOI:10.1175/WCAS-D-13-00004.1.

Abdussalam, A.F., A.J. Monaghan, D.H. Steinhoff, V.M. Dukic, M.H. Hayden, T.M. Hopson, and J. Thornes, and G.C. Leckebusch. (2014) The impact of climate change on meningitis in northwest Nigeria: an assessment using CMIP5 climate model simulations. Wea. Clim. Soc., accepted for publication.

Pandya R, Hodgson A, Hayden M, Akweongo P, Hopson T, Adams Forgor A, Yoksas T, Dalaba M, Dukic V, Mera R, Dumont A, McCormack K, Anaseba D, Awine T, Boehnert J, Nyaaba G, Laing A, Semazzi F. (2014) Using Weather Forecasts to Help Manage Meningitis. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Society accepted for publication

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Projects

Climate and Weather Impacts on Human Health Projects

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