Abstract
Climate variability and change is a major driver of infectious diseases around the world. This study sought to investigate the role of climate variability on the emergence of malaria in the North West region of Cameroon. Both biophysical and socio-economic data were collected for this study. Biophysical data, mainly secondary, was collected from meteorological stations (rainfall and temperature data) and hospitals (malaria morbidity and mortality statistics) in the study area. Socio-economic data were collected from primary sources, mainly, survey of households and hospitals, using semi-structured questionnaires. A total of 164 questionnaires were distributed amongst medical personnel and the general public (aged 18-70 years). Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that patterns of fluctuation in climate parameters did not have a perfect match with rates of prevalence of malaria. However, some relatively significant correlation was found to exist between certain aspects of climate and rates of prevalence of malaria. It was noted that other drivers are involved in influencing rates of prevalence of malaria besides climate variability and change. Amongst the impacts of malaria prevalence on the population were high rates of morbidity and mortality. The population employed treated mosquito bed nets as the main coping strategy for fighting against malaria. The study recommends that the health sector should incorporate the phenomena of climate variability and change into its policy framework, and more research should be conducted to assess other drivers of malaria prevalence in north western Cameroon.
Highlights
Climate variability and change pose severe threats to humanity worldwide
The study sought to investigate the relationship between climate variability and malaria emergence in North West Cameroon, with the intention to assess the degree of variability in climate parameters, to examine the role of this climate variability on the emergence of malaria, to analyze the impacts of climate variability driven malaria emergence on the population and to identify the adaptation measures taken up by the population and the efficacy of these measures in curbing the population’s vulnerability to malaria. 1.1 Conceptual Framework of Climate Variability and Malaria Emergence The conceptual framework for this study focuses on climate variability and malaria emergence (Figure 1)
Based on the findings of this study, it is clear that malaria is one of the major health problems affecting the population of Kumbo Central Sub Division
Summary
Climate variability and change pose severe threats to humanity worldwide. Variations in climate, either at the micro or macro-geographical level influence the survival, reproduction, transmission of disease agents and vectors, and their interaction with the geophysical factors associated with climate such as, precipitation, humidity, ambient and water temperature (Nkuo-Akenji et al, 2006; de Souza et al, 2012; Alemayehu et al, 2015). Their feeding habit is temperature dependent, such that at 17°C, the female anopheles feeds on human blood every four days and at 25°C, they feed every two days (Githeko, 2009) This temperature threshold is supplemented by adequate rainfall amounts and a conducive moist environment for the vector to breed. Each female anopheles mosquito lay their eggs in water (preferably, stagnant shallow water which exist in excess during the rainy season in tropical countries) and later on seek for blood meal to nurture their eggs (preferably human blood). This is when the parasite gets in contact with humans
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