Altitudinal Mobility and Disease Hazards for Ethiopian Populations

Abstract

Ethiopia is a country of significant local and regional topographic relief. Many communities in the country are located in regions which present the opportunity for the altitudinal mobility of their human populations. With altitudinal mobility comes exposure to a variety of physical, biotic, and aquatic habitats which, within the concept of landscape epidemiology, may serve as foci for the transmission of human diseases. These foci provide the physical habitat necessary for the survival and reproduction of human disease agents, vectors, and hosts. Examined are economic, social, and administrative activities performed by the population in three selected communities which lead to the exposure of individuals to foci of disease transmission. Also emphasized are changes in traditional behavior which increase or decrease the hazards of exposure to potential transmission sites at various altitudes. Diseases identified as hazardous specifically owing to altitudinal movement in the three study communities include malaria, schistosomiasis, yellow fever, and yaws.