Exploring spatiotemporal variation in host population mobility and vector-borne disease exposure

Abstract

Vector-borne diseases are widespread, diverse and disproportionately affect certain populations. It is well-known that the mobility of host populations is critical to vector-borne disease spread and persistence, and understanding spatiotemporal aspects of this mobility can help predict exposure risk at both fine and large scales. This thesis aims to examine variations in host mobility in the context of vector-borne diseases at opposing ends of the spatiotemporal scale in a ‘three-paper format’. The first paper examines the mobility of a small sample population of humans and livestock in a rural area of western Kenya at a very fine spatiotemporal resolution using surveys and GPS loggers. Several important demographic characteristics are linked to movement patterns, and some seasonal differences in time spent on different types of landcover are observed. Individual variations in movement patterns are likely to be causing differential exposure to some types of vector-borne disease. The second paper further explores the human factors linked to mobility, focusing on the activity-driven movements of the local population in relation to various types of resource access, as well as demographic differences in activity-driven mobility. Both gender and age are found to be linked to activity-driven movements in this small rural population, and women reported spending longer than men accessing health facilities, highlighting how some population subgroups may have differential access to treatments and preventions for vector-borne disease. The final paper is set at the other end of the spatiotemporal scale and quantifies the movement patterns of the population of Mozambique over several months, combining these with country-wide epidemiological data to examine how large-scale differences in mobility may affect exposure to malaria. Human-mediated parasite movements are shown to be highly heterogeneous across Mozambique, and individual movements between rural and urban areas are likely to be driving malaria transmission in some parts of the country. This thesis makes important contributions to our understanding of individual differences in mobility patterns and highlights how both small-scale and large-scale perspectives are valuable for understanding the factors that may increase individual risk of exposure to vector-borne diseases. The work concludes that while mobility underpins much of the dynamics of vector-borne diseases, it is also crucial for understanding differences in the mobility of host populations, as these play an important part in perpetuating transmission and therefore contribute to disease persistence.

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ORCID for Andrew Tatem: orcid.org/0000-0002-7270-941X

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