Contours of risk: spatializing human behaviors to understand disease dynamics in changing landscapes

Ecohealth. 2012 Sep;9(3):251-5. doi: 10.1007/s10393-012-0780-8. Epub 2012 Jul 18.

Abstract

We echo viewpoints presented in recent publications from EcoHealth and other journals arguing for the need to understand linkages between human health, disease ecology, and landscape change. We underscore the importance of incorporating spatialities of human behaviors and perceptions in such analyses to further understandings of socio-ecological interactions mediating human health. We use Buruli ulcer, an emerging necrotizing skin infection and serious health concern in central Ghana, to illustrate our argument.

MeSH terms

  • Buruli Ulcer / etiology*
  • Communicable Diseases, Emerging
  • Environmental Health*
  • Geography, Medical
  • Ghana
  • Humans
  • Mining*
  • Mycobacterium ulcerans / isolation & purification
  • Risk Assessment