Condiciones ambientales afectan salud humana en la selva amazónica

This fact sheet describes the LUCIA project, which developed and validated an Agent-Based Model (MBA) to simulate malaria transmission in the western Amazon. The research demonstrates how land use changes—such as deforestation, mining, and urbanization—combined with climate dynamics, increase human vulnerability to infectious diseases transmitted by vectors like the Anopheles darlingi mosquito.

• The LUCIA project developed a computational Agent-Based Model (MBA) that simulates the interactions between mosquitoes, parasites (Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax), and humans to accurately reproduce spatiotemporal variations of malaria transmission in low-endemicity environments characterized by river flooding.
• Environmental and anthropogenic factors, including climate change, migration, urbanization, road construction, and deforestation for agricultural or commercial expansion, promote the occurrence of vector-borne infectious diseases.
• The model was validated in three specific western Amazon regions: northeast Ecuador (mining, indigenous populations, and settlers), Machadinho, Brazil (agricultural expansion and deforestation), and Madre de Dios, Peru (gold mining and deforestation). In Peru, the model was specifically validated against empirical malaria incidence in Padre Cocha between 1996 and 1998.
• Research indicates that malaria risk is lower in population centers far from rivers, while isolated houses on the outskirts are more susceptible. Simulations showed that eliminating larval breeding sites within a 200-meter radius of a population can lead to the disappearance of disease transmission.
• The research has had practical policy impacts, specifically leading Ecuador to change its mining policies. The project emphasizes that population vulnerability metrics must integrate environmental factors alongside human and social ones, and health surveillance systems should correlate past migrations and environmental conditions with disease episodes.

APA

Barbieri, A. F. (n.d.). Condiciones ambientales afectan salud humana en la selva amazónica. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/CRN3036_PB_SP.pdf

Chicago

Barbieri, Alisson F. Condiciones ambientales afectan salud humana en la selva amazónica. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, n.d. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/CRN3036_PB_SP.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Barbieri |first1=Alisson F. |title=Condiciones ambientales afectan salud humana en la selva amazónica |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |url=https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/CRN3036_PB_SP.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{barbierindcondiciones, author = {Barbieri, Alisson F.}, title = {{Condiciones ambientales afectan salud humana en la selva amazónica}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/CRN3036_PB_SP.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }