Abstract
Ecological Niche Modeling of Cryptococcus Gattii in British Columbia, Canada Track: Health and Human Services Author(s): Sunny Mak, Brian Klinkenberg, Murray Fyfe, Karen Bartlett Cryptococcus gattii unexpectedly emerged on Vancouver Island in 1999 causing human and animal illness. More than 150 human and 270 animal cases have now been reported. Prior to this discovery, this microscopic fungal organism was limited to tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world in association with eucalyptus trees as the environmental reservoir. Environmental sampling for C. gattii in southwestern British Columbia (BC) has isolated the organism from soil, air, water, and native vegetation. GIS and Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Prediction (GARP) were used to model the ecological niche of C. gattii. The ecological niche of a species can be defined as the combination of ecological conditions within which it is able to maintain populations without immigration. The results of these analyses are visualized in GIS, and shared with public health to prioritize environmental sampling and increase public and physician awareness of cryptococcal disease in BC. Sunny Mak BC Centre for Disease Control Epidemiology Services 655 West 12th Avenue Vancouver , BC V5Z-4R4 CA Phone: (604) 775-1019 E-mail: sunny.mak@bccdc.ca Brian Klinkenberg University of British Columbia Department of Geography 1984 West Mall Vancouver , British Columbia V6T-1Z2 CA Phone: (604) 822-2663 E-mail: brian@geog.ubc.ca Murray Fyfe Vancouver Island Health Authority Public and Population Health Observatory 1900 Richmond Ave. Unit 430 Victoria , British Columbia V8R4R2 CA Phone: (250) 519-7066 E-mail: murray.fyfe@viha.ca Karen Bartlett University of British Columbia School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 2206 East Mall 3rd Floor Vancouver , British Columbia V6T-1Z3 CA Phone: (604) 822-9595 E-mail: kbartlet@interchange.ubc.ca |
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