Date of Award

11-16-2022

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Geography

Keywords

Neglected tropical disease, Schistosomiasis, Snail habitats, Tanzania

Abstract

Tropical diseases remain a leading cause of death in equatorial countries and regions in 2022. Schistosomiasis, categorized as a Neglected Tropical Disease, is an infectious disease that can cause liver damage, kidney failure, infertility, and bladder cancer and is especially dangerous for children as it can cause anemia, malnutrition, and learning difficulties. The multi-step infection process involves a snail vector and a permanent human host. An increased presence of the snail vector can lead to increases in infections in humans. Using GIS software, it is possible to determine what the optimal snail habitat is for Schistosomiasis carrying snails in Tanzania’s Mwanza region. By combining rainfall, temperature, calcium content, and vegetation data, a working model was created to locate snail habitats.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. This work may only be accessed by members of the University of Denver community. The work is provided by permission of the author for individual research purposes only and may not be further copied or distributed. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Provenance

Received from author

Rights holder

Kesiah Mendoza

File size

46 pgs

File format

application/pdf

Language

en

Discipline

Geographic information science

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