Mapping the ecoepidemiology of Zika virus infection in urban and rural areas of Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia, 2015–2016: Implications for public health and travel medicine. Issue 18 (July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rodriguez-Morales, Alfonso J.; Ruiz, Pablo; Tabares, Javier; Ossa, Carlos Augusto; Yepes-Echeverry, Maria Camila; Ramirez-Jaramillo, Valeria; Galindo-Marquez, Maria Leonor; García-Loaiza, Carlos Julian; Sabogal-Roman, Juan Alejandro; Parra-Valencia, Esteban; Lagos-Grisales, Guillermo J.; Lozada-Riascos, Carlos O.; de Pijper, Cornelis A.; Grobusch, Martin P.
• Is Part Of: Travel medicine and infectious disease. Issue 18(2017)
• Page Start: 57
• Page End: 66
• Publication Date: 2017-07
• Subjects: Zika virus (ZIKV) -- Geographical information systems (GIS) -- Public health -- Travelers -- Colombia -- Latin America; Travel -- Health aspects -- Periodicals; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Tropical medicine -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2017.05.004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1477-8939

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: Geographical information systems (GIS) have been demonstrated earlier to be of great use to inform public health action against vector-borne infectious diseases. Methods: Using surveillance data on the ongoing ZIKV outbreak from Pereira, Colombia (2015–2016), we estimated incidence rates (cases/100, 000 population), and developed maps correlating with the ecoepidemiology of the area. Results: Up to October 8, 2016, 439 cases of ZIKV were reported in Pereira (93 cases/100, 000 pop.), with highest rates in the South-West area. At the corregiments (sub-municipalities) of Pereira, Caimalito presented the highest rate. An urban area, Cuba, has 169 cases/100, 000 pop., with a low economical level and the highest Aedic index (9.1%). Entomological indexes were associated with ZIKV incidence at simple and multiple non-linear regressions (r 2 > 0.25; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Combining entomological, environmental, human population density, travel patterns and case data of vector-borne infections, such as ZIKV, leads to a valuable tool that can be used to pinpoint hotspots also for infections such as dengue, chikungunya and malaria. Such a tool is key to planning mosquito control and the prevention of mosquito-borne diseases in local populations. Such data also enable microepidemiology and the prediction of risk for travelers who visit specific areas in a destination country.