Impact of Extractive Industries on Malaria Prevalence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

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Citation

Mitchell, Cedar L.; Janko, Mark M.; Mwandagalirwa, Melchior K.; Tshefu, Antoinette K.; Edwards, Jessie K.; Pence, Brian W.; Juliano, Jonathan J.; & Emch, Michael E. (2022). Impact of Extractive Industries on Malaria Prevalence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1737. PMCID: PMC8810856

Abstract

Extraction of natural resources through mining and logging activities provides revenue and employment across sub-Saharan Africa, a region with the highest burden of malaria globally. The extent to which mining and logging influence malaria transmission in Africa remains poorly understood. Here, we evaluate associations between mining, logging, and malaria in the high transmission setting of the Democratic Republic of the Congo using population-representative malaria survey results and geographic data for environmental features and mining and logging concessions. We find elevated malaria prevalence among individuals in rural areas exposed to mining; however, we also detect significant spatial confounding among locations. Upon correction, effect estimates for mining and logging shifted toward the null and we did not find sufficient evidence to detect an association with malaria. Our findings reveal a complex interplay between mining, logging, space, and malaria prevalence. While mining concessions alone may not drive the high prevalence, unobserved features of mining-exposed areas, such as human migration, changing vector populations, or parasite genetics, may instead be responsible.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05777-9

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2022

Journal Title

Scientific Reports

Author(s)

Mitchell, Cedar L.
Janko, Mark M.
Mwandagalirwa, Melchior K.
Tshefu, Antoinette K.
Edwards, Jessie K.
Pence, Brian W.
Juliano, Jonathan J.
Emch, Michael E.

Article Type

Regular

PMCID

PMC8810856

Data Set/Study

Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)

Continent/Country

Democratic Republic of Congo

ORCiD

Emch - 0000-0003-2642-965X
Edwards, J -0000-0002-1741-335X