Jacqueline A. Smith

Before we used to get sick all the time: perceptions of malaria and use of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLINs) in a rural Kenyan community

BackgroundMalaria is a leading global cause of preventable morbidity and mortality, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, despite recent advances in treatment and prevention technologies. Scale-up and wide distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) could rapidly decrease malarial disease in endemic areas, if used properly and continuously. Studies have shown that effective use of LLINs depends, in part, upon understanding causal factors associated with malaria. This study examined malaria beliefs, attitudes, and practices toward LLINs assessed during a large-scale integrated prevention campaign (IPC) in rural Kenya.MethodsQualitative interviews were conducted with 34 IPC participants who received LLINs as part of a comprehensive prevention package of goods and services. One month after distribution, interviewers asked these individuals about their attitudes and beliefs regarding malaria, and about their use of LLINs.ResultsVirtually all participants noted that mosquitoes were involved in causing malaria, though a substantial proportion of participants (47 percent) also mentioned an incorrect cause in addition to mosquitoes. For example, participants commonly noted that the weather (rain, cold) or consumption of bad food and water caused malaria. Regardless, most participants used the LLINs they were given and most mentioned positive benefits from their use, namely reductions in malarial illness and in the costs associated with its diagnosis and treatment.ConclusionsAttitudes toward LLINs were positive in this rural community in Western Kenya, and respondents noted benefits with LLIN use. With improved understanding and clarification of the direct (mosquitoes) and indirect (e.g., standing water) causes of malaria, it is likely that LLIN use can be sustained, offering effective household-level protection against malaria.

Chronologies of the Last Glacial Maximum and its Termination in the Andes (∼10–55°S) Based on Surface Exposure Dating

Results of recent studies applying surface exposure dating (SED) along the Andes help to refine existing glacial chronologies and corroborate that glaciation was partly out-of-phase with the global last glacial maximum (global LGM: 24–18 ka). The records indicate an earlier local LGM (30/26 ka, where age pairs reflect present dating uncertainties) in the tropical Andes of Peru and northern Bolivia (apart from the eastern side of the Eastern Cordillera), which might be due to increasingly drier conditions during the course of the last global glaciation. In southern Bolivia, glacier advances occurred synchronously with the paleolake transgression phases Tauca (18–14 ka) and Coipasa (13–11 ka), documenting an intensification and/or southward shift of the tropical circulation. This reflects the high precipitation-sensitivity of glaciers in the arid areas of the Central Andes. Although moraines dating between 18/16 and 15/13 ka are also present in northern Chile (∼30°S), the local LGM there occurred as early as ∼42/39 ka. Evidence for similar early glacial maxima is found as far south as ∼40°S, suggesting that an intensification and/or northward shift of the westerlies at that time provided sufficient moisture. In Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, glaciation occurred broadly in-phase with the global LGM. At present, systematic methodological uncertainties related to SED as well as different approaches to interpreting scatter in exposure ages limit the utility of exposure ages in resolving dating questions on millennial and shorter timescales.

A chronology of post‐glacial landslides suggests that slight increases in precipitation could trigger a disproportionate geomorphic response

Large, deep-seated landslides are common throughout the southeastern San Juan Mountains of Colorado and New Mexico, but their timing and initiation are not well understood. Determining when the landslides occurred would aid in clarifying the mechanisms for initiating landslides in the region and would help us to understand post-glacial landscape evolution. We studied seven prehistoric landslides located within the Tertiary volcanic rocks of the San Juan Volcanic Field. The landslides range in area from ~0.8 km2 to ~11.3 km2 and most are located in areas that were previously mapped as having been ice-covered during the last glaciation. Landslide deposits were dated using a variety of methods including surface-exposure dating (36Cl), radiocarbon dating of basal bog sediments and organic material buried in soils, and relative soil development. The resulting limiting ages range from approximately 14 ka to 2 ka and show that deep-seated landsliding has occurred throughout the post-glacial period. This broad range in ages is inconsistent with our initial hypothesis, which proposed that landslides were likely the result of debuttressing of glacial walls during glacial retreat. Furthermore, the timing of landslides does not seem to correlate with documented post-glacial climatic shifts. Therefore, we conclude that landsliding in the region was the result of wetter than normal periods lasting months to years acting on weak bedrock pre-conditioned to failure and prepared by glacial debuttressing. Our findings suggest that the study area is likely still susceptible to deep-seated landsliding and may become even more prone to large-scale slope failure if future climate change increases precipitation in the San Juan Mountains.