Abstract
Due to intense ongoing urbanization in the Amazon, the urban pattern of malaria may be changing, both in its spatial distribution and epidemiological profile. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the process of production of urban space in Porto Velho, the capital of the state of Rondonia, Brazil has contributed to the occurrence and maintenance of urban malaria. Using data collected from the Malaria Epidemiological Surveillance System (SIVEP-Malaria), we calculated malaria indices for the districts of Porto Velho from 2005 to 2018. We also developed two typologies for classifying urban space based on functional characteristics and features of the landscape. While the former considers characteristics of urban space in Porto Velho, the latter is based on suitability for malaria vectors. We found that the annual parasite index declined in Porto Velho during the study period. However, changes in the index were not uniform across the districts of the city. Periurban areas showed no decline in the index, which we attribute to these areas' high vegetation density and hydrological characteristics.
Highlights
The settlement of the Brazilian Amazon has followed a “boom and bust” economic pattern
From 2003-2018, 204,458 cases of urban malaria were notified in Porto Velho, with an annual mean of 11,359 cases
The Annual Parasite Index (API) in the city decreased over the study, it is still greater than the mean of the state of Rondônia
Summary
The settlement of the Brazilian Amazon has followed a “boom and bust” economic pattern. Salient examples include epochs of intensive mineral extraction and specialization in the production of hydroelectric power Such undertakings, coupled with rapid economic and population growth, have triggered migration and land use/land cover change. These processes, in turn, have had social and public health implications, such as influencing the size and location of malaria epidemics[1,2,3]. There are social processes such as the presence of large populations living near forests and rivers in settlements without adequate housing, streets or sidewalks[4,5,6] These processes act in concert to make the Amazon region prone to malaria transmission
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