I. Purpose:

1
The GLOBE/Madagascar Malaria Project Creating
Student/Educator/Scientist Partnerships With
Regional Impact David Brooks (brooksdr_at_drexel.e
du) Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut St., Philad
elphia, PA 19104 United States Rebecca Boger
(rboger_at_globe.gov) GLOBE Program, 3300 Mitchell
Lane, Boulder, CO 80301 United States Albert
Rafalimanana (globemcar_at_wanadoo.mg)
GLOBE Madagascar, Ministry of National Education
and Scientific Research, Anosy Antananarivo, 101
Madagascar
Table 1. Site 1. Lycée Philbert Tsiranana, lake
near maize and cassava fields, surrounded by man
go trees, 10 April 2006.
I. Purpose To develop an experimental protocol
for collecting and identifying mosquito larvae
that, when implemented together with other
environmental measurement protocols developed by
the GLOBE Program, will 1.Provide valuable dat
a that relate environmental conditions to
breeding patterns of malaria-bearing and
non-malaria-bearing mosquitoes.
2.Increase the level of understanding about mala
ria among students, teachers, and communities in
countries where this disease is endemic.

• II. Background
• ?Malaria is a parasitic disease spread by
  mosquitoes in the genus Anopheles. It causes more
  than
  
• 300,000,000 acute illnesses and more than
  one million deaths annually, including the death
  of
  
• one African child every 30 seconds.
• ?Recent epidemiological trends include increases
  in malaria mortality and the emergence of drug-
  
• resistant parasites.
• ?Some experts believe that predicted climate
  changes during the 21st century will bring
  malaria to
  
• areas where it is not now common.
• There are dozens of Anopheles species and
  sub-species that are adapted to a wide range of
  
• micro-environmental conditions encountered
  in Madagascar's variable climate. These variable
  
• conditions, along with increased population
  mobility, actually reduce levels of immunity and
  
• produce sporadic malaria outbreaks with
  high mortality.

• III. Why GLOBE?
• GLOBE Program provides an ideal framework a
  highly structured system for defining experiment
  
• protocols that ensure consistent
  procedures, a widely dispersed network of
  observing sites, and a
  
• centralized data collection and reporting
  system.
  
• ? Current GLOBE protocols for basic
  meteorological and water quality are already in
  place.
  
• Current emphasis by GLOBE on developing stronger
  national and regional programs focused on
  
• environmental issues of national and
  regional concern.

Table 2. Site 2. Lycée Philbert Tsiranana, small
former salt marsh, 13 April 2006.

• V. Implementation in Madagascar
• Summer, 2005 GLOBE/Madagascar (Mr. Rafalimanana)
  shared project with scientists and
  
• ministry officials in Madagascar (the
  University of Antananarivo, National Institute
  for
  
• Pedagogical Training, Ministry of Health,
  Centre National dApplications et des
  Rescherches
  
• Pharmeceuticques (CNARP), Ministry of
  Education).
  
• October 2005 With support from GLOBE Program
  (Brooks and Boger), developed a draft
  
• protocol for the collection and
  identification of the mosquito larvae. Teachers
  and students from
  
• selected schools received training in this
  new GLOBE protocols as well as basic
  meteorological
  
• and water quality protocols (in time for
  mosquito breeding season).
  
• Some difficulty in collecting samples, but no
  difficulty distinguishing between Anopheles and
  
• Culex larvae. Revisions to protocols
  addressed sample collection difficulties and
  classroom
  
• interpretation.
• Spring 2006, first data reports from 2 schools.

• IV. Protocol Summary
• ? Identify and characterize potential mosquito
  breeding sites.
  
• ? Collect larvae samples with dip net (5 dips per
  session).
  
• ? Observe water quality, vegetation, and
  potential larvae predators around collection
  site.
  
• Count larvae and identify at genus level as
  Anopheles (which transmit malaria) or
  non-Anopheles
  
• (which do not transmit malaria).

Table 3. Site 3. Lycée Miandrivazo, Tolaria,
irrigation ditches, March 2006.
Table 4. Site 4. Lycée Miandrivazo, Tolaria,
pond, March 2006.

• VI. Conclusions
• In less than one year, a new protocol has been
  developed and implemented, primarily by the GLOBE
  Program in
  
• Madagascar.
• ? Government, education, and public health
  officials have taken ownership of the project.
  
• Preliminary data demonstrate the validity of the
  project concept. They already show some
  interesting data trends,
  
• raise new questions, and suggest where
  improvements can be made in this protocol.