A Study of Individual Human Mobility Patterns Related to Malaria Transmission Along the Thai-Myanmar Border

Malaria elimination remains a major challenge worldwide largely because human mobility can result in importing cases from areas of high incidence to areas of low incidence. Thus, understanding the role of human mobility in malaria transmission is essential. In this study, we collect mobility data from 88 participants over ten months using a smartphone application. Our study area is in northern Thailand along the border with Myanmar, from which malaria may be imported. We analyze amount of time spent in Thailand/Myanmar in areas of various land cover types, spatial distribution of movement, and network patterns of movement. We find significant differences between villages in amounts of time spent in forest areas and in Myanmar, with most travel to Myanmar occurring from two villages. We find significantly higher spatial distribution of movement in the dry season than the wet season. Our results provide important insight to help target surveillance and intervention.