Madagascar

-

Hello again to all!  

One significant point of focus in my research is Madagascar. I know I have mentioned this country in previous blog posts. However, the more I learn about incidence of Plague, the more Madagascar dominates the average rates of infection. 

Also, this week I found some interesting information provided by the Republic of South Africa's Health Department in their publication of National Plague Control Guidelines. For example, more than 80% of worldwide Plague cases occur in South African countries, most notably Madagascar. This remains true and representative of the last three decades. Hence, I think we can agree we need to look really closely about what's going on with this island. 

Here is a simple statement from Dr. M. E. Tshabalala-Msimang in the manual that made me ecstatic:

 "The ecology of plague is highly variable as there is a complex interaction between the hosts, vectors and the plague bacilli that is influenced by factors such as host susceptibility, season, temperature, humidity, and availability of food and the transmission efficiency of fleas." (n.d.) 

This, although a simple and broad statement, was like a wonderful confirmation for me that I am on the right track. I am specifying temperature in my research question, but I had also suspected humidity. However, I do believe it depends on ideal environments for hosts and vectors. Regardless, it affirmed my efforts are not fruitless. 

I cannot express enough how much love I have for the before mentioned source.  


Here is a beautiful temperature map of Madagascar and I actually found it in a journal about climate change by Modeste Kameni Nematchoua in 2017. If you're able to zoom in on the legend, it describes average temperature and precipitation. The map represents averages from 1970- 1995. The journal has map for more recent years, which looks very similar. However, they altered it to reflect the predicted changes in climate over the next 15 years, which if my hypothesis is supported, could be a helpful source to predict future Plague incidence. For the sake of accuracy and concrete date, I'll use this older map to show you the temperature regions of Madagascar. 

Picture derived from: http://www.insightcore.com/journal/study-outdoor-environment-climate-change-effects-madagascar-modeste-kameni-nematchoua-2017.html

Now, let's take a look at two Plague maps for 2017 from the World Health Organization. The bottom represents Bubonic Plague and the top represents Pneumonic Plague. 



Do you see it? I'm not going to comment more about them because I want to leave a little of the puzzle pieces for you to put together. (I know it's simple but exciting nonetheless!) 

Okay, lastly and most irrelevantly, there was another interesting diagram shared in Plague control paper I shared earlier. It doesn't help my research question that directly, but it is a great visual aid for those confused about transmission and the various types. It uses animals from Madagascar, but the transmission follows suit for different areas of the world with other rodent and mammal hosts. 



Photo derived from National Plague Control Guidelines at https://www.medbox.org/preview/59e73b9f-32a8-4014-8677-36d31fcc7b87/doc.pdf



Thanks for reading! Keep washing those hands and have a wonderful week! 


References 

Republic of South Africa Health Department. (n.d.) National Plague Control Guidlines.                                     https://www.medbox.org/preview/59e73b9f-32a8-4014-8677-36d31fcc7b87/doc.pdf

Nematchoua, M.K. (2017). A study on outdoor environment and climate change effects in                             Madagascar. Journal of Buildings and Sustainability, 1(1).  

        http://www.insightcore.com/journal/study-outdoor-environment-climate-change-effects-                        madagascar-modeste-kameni-nematchoua-2017.html

World Health Organization. (2017, November 27). Plague – Madagascar.
         https://www.who.int/csr/don/27-november-2017-plague-madagascar/en/



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Connecting with a Mentor + NCUIRE

-
 Networking....is awkward and uncomfortable.  BUT, like aquiring any skill, it becomes easy and natural with practice.  I dreaded reaching out to a mentor on LinkedIn. However, my message was really well-received, and I got some extremely helpful insight into a potential career path and research opportunities.  When I was sending the message, I felt like I was bothering this professional, and she would be annoyed with my questions. I had quite the opposite reaction, and she was ecstatic to tell me all about what she is working on. Now, I've established my name with someone who could help me connect with professors in graduate programs.  The NCUIRE Symposium was equally awkward. There's a bunch of people standing around staring at you and waiting for you to approach them. However, I wanted to be supportive and network, so I would walk up to someone and ask questions about their poster. I had NO IDEA how many cool research projects were happening at ASU West. Some of the particip
Read more

Trying to Learn Statistics

-
Image
It is almost turkey times, friends! I cannot wait for some stuffing (it's my favorite). First, I'd like to say I am having issues commenting on my own blog. I have seen your comments and appreciate the support, encouragement, and advice. Hopefully, I will have these technical issues resolved soon so that I can respond and send my warm regards.  I have done a little statistics in some of my science classes, but have not taken the class, yet. I believe it's on my schedule for one of the upcoming semesters. Therefore, I don't fully know about the types of statistical comparisons.  My week has been organizing my data into neat little tables that make sense. Also, I have had to collect some more climate data for one of my regions. I need to have a meeting with a mentor to help me understand statistically and graphically. I love math, but my least favorite part is making the graphs. Well, just complicated ones are challenging. Really my goal is to have the data really clearly
Read more

It's Paper Time

-
Image
 Hello again, friends! I'd like to start by saying welcome to all the new people who have joined. I'm fairly new myself, but am starting to feel really comfortable and more confident in my work. The blogs I've seen so far are really interesting and I can't wait to see all the different research. STEM is really amazing and can reach so many different facets and learners.  The rough draft of the paper is due next week. My sentiments about that include anxious deep breaths. In all seriousness, my goal is for it to be very clear, logical, and worthy of the topic.  I am removing population density of humans and rodents from my variable table. The data is more inconsistent in rodents and the mammals vary so much in species, reproduction styles and rates, and community distance proximity. The pursuit was not fruitless and I learned a lot about flea carriers and disease spread in the process. However, I think the prospect of population density data was short-sighted and not wel
Read more