Mapping and Modeling the Social and Ecological Determinants of Vector-Borne Disease Risk: A Case Study of Human African Trypanosomiasis

Vector-borne parasitic diseases (VBPDs) such as human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) pose a daily challenge to the ability to survive and thrive for inhabitants of remote rural sub-Saharan Africa. Social and ecological factors of the region compound the risks encountered by everyday subsistence living. Recent rhodesiense HAT (r-HAT) outbreaks in Malawi reinforce the need to think more broadly about approaches to control. The Simulated Models for Areas at Risk for Trypanosomiasis (SMART) leverage the social and ecological factors that increase area-wide exposure risk and produce a 1-km spatial resolution per-pixel map identifying areas where interactions among humans, animal reservoirs such as cattle, and tsetse fly, the insect vector of the disease, are greatest. Precision mapping approaches such as SMART could be useful in control and intervention priority setting. Stakeholder engagement in communities is another critical component in developing sustainable solutions to the control of tsetse and trypanosomiasis.