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CategoriesGradient Map of Distribution of Endemic Malaria
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Malaria Maps
Malaria prophylactics medication is recommended for visitors to some parts of Africa, ask your hunting outfitter and we suggest that you visit the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) for their recommendations for travel to your specific destination as mosquitoes in some African countries are resistant to certain antimalarial drugs.
Distribution Model
Background: This map is a theoretical model based on available long-term climate data. It has a resolution of about 5x5 km. Although it is reasonably accurate, it is not based on actual malaria data and may not reflect the real malaria status. It shows the theoretical suitability of local climatic, and therefore the potential distribution of stable malaria transmission in the average year. Please note that climatic conditions, and therefore malaria transmission, vary substantially from one year to the next. Malaria control activities can also dramatically alter the malaria transmission situation.
Meaning: Where climate is "suitable" (red = 1), malaria is likely endemic (hypo-, meso-, hyper- or holoendemic). "Suitable" areas may have little or no malaria because of malaria control. Where climate is "unsuitable" (white = 0), malaria is likely epidemic or absent. Some "unsuitable" areas may actually have endemic malaria because of the presence of surface water in an area where there is little or no rain. In the marginally suitable areas (0.1 - 0.9) transmission may occur at steady but low levels (eg eastern Africa), or in strongly seasonal cycles with great inter-annual variation (eg western & southern Africa).
Source: MARA/ARMA (Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa / Atlas du Risque de la Malaria en Afrique)
Endemic / Epidemic Risk Areas
Background: The malaria distribution model has been re-classified into endemic and epidemic areas. These risk areas have then been used to calculate the number of people living in endemic and epidemic conditions. In Southern Africa (Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa) "endemic" encompasses regions where the climate is 50-100% suitable, whereas in the rest of Africa "endemic" refers to regions where climate is 20-100% suitable. Different cut-offs were used, because in southern Africa malaria is at the limit of its distribution and has been largely reduced through malaria control. Otherwise, all comments on the malaria distribution model apply to this map also.
Meaning: Endemic areas are defined as "areas with significant annual transmission, be it seasonal or perennial". Epidemic areas are defined as "areas prone to distinct inter-annual variation, in some years with no transmission taking place at all". Since this is a theoretical model, areas defined as "endemic" may be "epidemic" in reality, or v.v.
Source: MARA/ARMA (Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa / Atlas du Risque de la Malaria en Afrique)
Duration of Malaria Transmission Season
Background: These maps are also theoretical models based on available long-term climate data. They have a resolution of about 5x5 km. Although they are reasonably accurate, they are not based on actual malaria data and may not reflect the real malaria status. They are based on the theoretical suitability of local climatic, and therefore the potential duration, onset and end of the malaria transmission season, in the average year. Please note that climatic conditions, and therefore malaria transmission, vary substantially from one year to the next. Malaria control activities can also dramatically alter the malaria transmission situation. More work is ongoing to refine these models.
Meaning: In the Months of Risk model, malaria transmission is strongly seasonal to epidemic (yellow = 1-3 months), seasonal and endemic (light green = 4-6 months) or perennial and endemic (dark green = 7-12 months). Some areas shown as "No transmission" (white) may actually have endemic malaria because of the presence of surface water in an area where there is little or no rain.
Source: MARA/ARMA (Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa / Atlas du Risque de la Malaria en Afrique)
Duration of Malaria Transmission Season
Background: Based on the seasonality model, these maps simply reflect the first and last month of the average transmission season. All comments on the seasonality model apply to these maps too.
Meaning: The colors indicate the month in which the transmission season starts and ends, in the average year. In a few areas there are two transmission season, so that there are two start and two end of season maps.
Source: MARA/ARMA (Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa / Atlas du Risque de la Malaria en Afrique)
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