2023-05-09 04:31:12
Researchers from the Gulich Institute, belonging to the National Commission for Space Activities (CONAE) and the National University of Córdoba, use satellite images and products to link environmental variables with the appearance of diseases such as Chagas disease, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, malaria, hantavirus and Hemorrhagic Fever Argentina (FHA). This line of work is called panoramic epidemiology and has more than 20 years of experience. Currently, the group is made up of eleven researchers, part of them doctoral students with Conicet scholarships.
Among its many applications, spatial information in Argentina has a wide development in the area of public health. From different projects, risk maps are prepared with data provided by remote sensors and statistical information on areas likely to be affected by diseases, to then implement prevention policies.
“With satellites we can observe the effects of land use change. For example, If we look at the type of vegetation and how it changes over time, we can infer how the long-tailed mouse that lives in that place and is a transmitter of the hantavirus will behave.or another rodent in the Pampean region that transmits the FHA”, explains Ximena Porcasione of the directors of the team.
Then the specialists add epidemiological information and apply statistical analysis models or artificial intelligence algorithms to develop risk maps. Likewise, they began to incorporate climatic variables to make short-term forecasts about the moments in which the peak population density occurs in mosquitoes.
Evidence to decide
The information generated is used in decision-making on public policies. Currently, the Institute works in coordination with the Coordination of Vector Control, the National Institute of Viral and Human Diseases, and the National Center for Diagnosis and Research in Endemoepidemics of the National Ministry of Health.
In addition, the Gulich expanded its research spectrum in recent years. “We incorporate the study of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular, respiratory and cancer, which have a different link with the environment. We analyze the effect of smoke from fires, as well as other air pollutants and heat waves, on the incidence and premature deaths from these causes”, highlights Porcasi. They also investigate parasites, malnutrition and obesity from a socio-environmental perspective and use concepts such as security, food sovereignty and food environments.
Beyond the state level, the Institute articulates with civil entities that complement spatial information with field analysis in different regions of the country.
space surveillance
Mundo Sano is a foundation that has been working for 30 years to prevent and reduce the impact of neglected communicable diseases. such as dengue, Chagas, helminthiasis, rabies and leprosy, among others. Since 2004, together with the Gulich Institute, it has implemented the use of geospatial tools and remote satellite sensors to study, monitor, and control the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the transmitter of dengue.
Currently, the Foundation develops an integrated surveillance system based on spatial information for vector-borne diseases. The project was selected by CONAE to obtain financing from the Satellite Technologies Development Program of the Inter-American Development Bank.
“For us, this articulation is very important because CONAE and Gulich have access to satellite images and data processing. For our part, we focus on the collection and analysis of the terrain variables”, highlights Victoria PeriagoConicet researcher and scientific coordinator of Mundo Sano.
In the new project, the Foundation develops risk prediction models that indicate the presence of different infectious diseases in certain areas of the country. For this, they combine information from the Argentine SAOCOM satellites and satellites of the European Space Agency and NASA with field information that is integrated with environmental variables such as temperature and precipitation.
“The original proposal focused on developing risk prediction models for vector-borne diseases, such as dengue and Chagas, but later we added other pathologies, such as geohelminthiasis and particularly some zoonoses, such as hydatidosis and hantavirus. Thus we expanded the provision of the final product to a broader universe of communicable diseases”, says Periago.
The system has a friendly format, useful for visualizing and planning actions. In turn, it is aimed at different levels of users. “While some will be able to see the system with historical and updated information on a regional scale, others will be able to upload your own data and process it, see the distribution of the different variables and create risk maps at the local level”, details the researcher.
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