Article on the relationship between mineral dust and meningitis epidemics in Niger

The journal Environmental Health Perspectives has published the article entitled “Soil Dust Aerosols and Wind as Predictors of Seasonal Meningitis Incidence in Niger”. In this paper the incidence of meningitis epidemics is compared over a long period (1996-2006) with climate variables for the same period in Niger. The authors conclude that wind speed and atmospheric mineral dust surface concentrations recorded in November and December can be used to predict infection rates of meningitis during the winter months, when the Harmattan blows over the Sahel transporting air masses with high concentrations of dust from the Sahara.

The full reference is:

Pérez García-Pando, C., M.C. Stanton, P.J. Diggle, S. Trzaska, R.L. Miller, J.P. Perlwitz, J.M. Baldasano, E. Cuevas, P. Ceccato, P. Yaka, and M.C. Thomson, 2014, Soil Dust Aerosols and Wind as Predictors of Seasonal Meningitis Incidence in Niger ,  Environmental Health Perspectives doi:10.1289/ehp.1306640.
To download the paper: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1306640/

About this article the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) has made a short documentary that can be seen (in English):
http://vimeo.com/87435144

NASA has prepared a popular article on the subject of meningitis published in multiple sites (Astrobiology Magazine, Earthzine, IRI, GISS and others ….)

http://iri.columbia.edu/news/climate-conditions-help-forecast-meningitis-outbreaks/

http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/features/201403_perez/

http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/6065/climate-conditions-help-forecast-meningitis-outbreaks