Mobile phones and malaria: Modeling human and parasite travel

Caroline O. Buckee, Amy Wesolowski, Nathan N. Eagle, Elsa Hansen, Robert W. Snow

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

72 Scopus citations

Abstract

Human mobility plays an important role in the dissemination of malaria parasites between regions of variable transmission intensity. Asymptomatic individuals can unknowingly carry parasites to regions where mosquito vectors are available, for example, undermining control programs and contributing to transmission when they travel. Understanding how parasites are imported between regions in this way is therefore an important goal for elimination planning and the control of transmission, and would enable control programs to target the principal sources of malaria. Measuring human mobility has traditionally been difficult to do on a population scale, but the widespread adoption of mobile phones in low-income settings presents a unique opportunity to directly measure human movements that are relevant to the spread of malaria. Here, we discuss the opportunities for measuring human mobility using data from mobile phones, as well as some of the issues associated with combining mobility estimates with malaria infection risk maps to meaningfully estimate routes of parasite importation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)15-22
Number of pages8
JournalTravel Medicine and Infectious Disease
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Infectious Diseases

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