Jena-Optronik with significant contribution in fighting the deadly disease within the project Epidemio.
Digital satellite data of Luanda, the capital of Angola, taken within the Epidemio project, help the employees of the World Health Organization to fight the deadly Marburg virus. The international project Epidemio for vectorisation and classification of satellite data is led by the Jenoptik subsidiary Jena-Optronik.
"The product will be of great help to our organization with the recent outbreak of Marburg virus in Angola", says Johan Lemarchand, WHO. For the first time digital data will be used in fighting such an epidemic. A map of Luanda, which was made out of data taken by the French satellite SPOT 5 with an 2.5 m PAN, will be used for orientation and offers the possibility for urban mapping. Furthermore, it is possible to integrate information on the spread of known cases.
The virus was first recognized at the beginning of April in Angola and causes bleeding in organs of the human body. The incubation period is between five and nine days.
There is a growing international awareness of the importance of the epidemiology of diseases and it is recognized that improved up-to-date information on the environment, in which infectious diseases occur, will help epidemiologists to study, understand and predict threats to human health.
Within the scope of the "Epidemio" project satellites will join this field as data sources for epidemics. The scope of this ESA - funded project is to demonstrate and use the potential of Earth Observation for a new application supplying new types of environmental information on epidemiology. Jena-Optronik is the leader of the Epidemio project team. Since the work plan requires combining complementary skills and expertise, a consortium has been organised that is qualified and well experienced in the various relevant fields.
