Ross River Virus Disease Clusters and Spatial Relationship with Mosquito Biting Exposure in Redland Shire, Southern Queensland, Australia
Open Access
- 1 September 2006
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Medical Entomology
- Vol. 43 (5) , 1042-1059
- https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585(2006)43[1042:rrvdca]2.0.co;2
Abstract
The spatial heterogeneity in the risk of Ross River virus (family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, RRV) disease, the most common mosquito-borne disease in Australia, was examined in Redland Shire in southern Queensland, Australia. Disease cases, complaints from residents of intense mosquito biting exposure, and human population data were mapped using a geographic information system. Surface maps of RRV disease age-sex standardized morbidity ratios and mosquito biting complaint morbidity ratios were created. To determine whether there was significant spatial variation in disease and complaint patterns, a spatial scan analysis method was used to test whether the number of cases and complaints was distributed according to underlying population at risk. Several noncontiguous areas in proximity to productive saline water habitats of Aedes vigilax (Skuse), a recognized vector of RRV, had higher than expected numbers of RRV disease cases and complaints. Disease rates in human populations in areas which had high numbers of adult Ae. vigilax in carbon dioxide- and octenol-baited light traps were up to 2.9 times those in areas that rarely had high numbers of mosquitoes. It was estimated that targeted control of adult Ae. vigilax in these high-risk areas could potentially reduce the RRV disease incidence by an average of 13.6%. Spatial correlation was found between RRV disease risk and complaints from residents of mosquito biting. Based on historical patterns of RRV transmission throughout Redland Shire and estimated future human population growth in areas with higher than average RRV disease incidence, it was estimated that RRV incidence rates will increase by 8% between 2001 and 2021. The use of arbitrary administrative areas that ranged in size from 4.6 to 318.3 km2 has the potential to mask any small scale heterogeneity in disease patterns. With the availability of georeferenced data sets and high-resolution imagery, it is becoming more feasible to undertake spatial analyses at relatively small scales.Keywords
This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit:
- Spatial clustering of malaria and associated risk factors during an epidemic in a highland area of western KenyaTropical Medicine & International Health, 2004
- Vector competence of Coquillettidia linealis (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) for Ross River and Barmah Forest virusesAustralian Journal of Entomology, 2002
- Spatial distribution of vectors of Ross River virus and Barmah Forest virus on Russell Island, Moreton Bay, QueenslandAustralian Journal of Entomology, 2002
- Spatial Analysis of West Nile Virus: Rapid Risk Assessment of an Introduced Vector-Borne ZoonosisVector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2002
- The spatial distribution of ross river virus infections in Brisbane: Significance of residential location and relationships with vegetation typesEnvironmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 2000
- CHILDHOOD LEUKAEMIA IN SWEDEN: USING GIS AND A SPATIAL SCAN STATISTIC FOR CLUSTER DETECTIONStatistics in Medicine, 1996
- Spatial disease clusters: Detection and inferenceStatistics in Medicine, 1995
- Geostatistics and Geographic Information Systems in Applied Insect EcologyAnnual Review of Entomology, 1993
- ARBOVIRUSES OF AUSTRALIAAustralian Veterinary Journal, 1972
- Modified Randomization Tests for Nonparametric HypothesesThe Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 1957