Investigator:
Melissa Chapman
Advisor:
Marta Wells
Start Date:
January, 2014
Description:
The objective of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between incidence of spina bifida cases and malaria endemicity, and therefore inform public policy regarding management of the risk of neural tube defects. This will be determined by using the data from Kijabe cases in conjunction with publicly available data on worldwide malaria burden and related ecological variables.
Though this relationship represents the core of the research question, secondary objectives include a more detailed understanding of Kijabe Hospital’s catchment area (from both the spina bifida cases and the ARM cases) and the distribution of spina bifida independent of it’s correlation with malaria.