The Indian Ocean Dipole and malaria risk in the highlands of western Kenya.

ABSTRACT: Epidemics of malaria in the East African highlands in the last 2 decades have often been associated with climate variability, particularly the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, there are other factors associated with malaria risk and there is increased interest in the influences of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), a climate mode of coupled ocean-atmosphere variability, on East African rainfall. This study explores the relationship between IOD and the number of malaria patients in 7 hospitals from 2 districts in the western Kenyan highlands, controlling for the effects of ENSO. We examined temporal patterns (1982-2001) in the number of malaria cases in relation to the dipole mode index (DMI), defined as the difference in sea surface temperature anomaly between the western (10 degr

SUBMITTER: Hashizume M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2644128 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature