Spectral and landscape characterization of filarious and non-filarious villages in Egypt

Abstract

Filarial disease is endemic in Egypt in some villages of Nile Delta governorates where it is transmitted by Culex pipiens female. GIS functions are used to identify environmental indicators of high-risk village as indicated by mosquito density, human infection rate, vector species composition, mean life expectancy "e(o)" & environmental variables (geology, hydrology, soil types, etc) as well as meteorological factors (temperature, RH and rainfall) in relation to filaria transmission risk. Remote-sensing technology was used to distinguish between the two studied villages as high and non-infected, as defined by microfilarial prevalence. The results indicate that filaria transmission risk is higher at an area characterized by highly productive aquifers, silt clay soil, receiving little amount of rain with low relative humidity (RH). The results indicate that the most important landscape elements associated with prevalence are water and different vegetation. This work showed that the integration between GIS and remote sensing technologies to analyze and identify the environmental factors, associated with the disease, did not only allow mapping icurrent spatial patterns, but also predicting its distribution under expected future developmental and environmental changes.