Improving public health intervention for mosquito-borne disease: the value of geovisualization using source of infection and LandScan data

Abstract

Epidemiological studies use georeferenced health data to identify disease clusters but the accuracy of this georeferencing is obfuscated by incorrectly assigning the source of infection and by aggregating case data to larger geographical areas. Often, place of residence (residence) is used as a proxy for the source of infection (source) which may not be accurate. Using a 21-year dataset from South Australia of human infections with the mosquito-borne Ross River virus, we found that 37% of cases were believed to have been acquired away from home. We constructed two risk maps using age-standardized morbidity ratios (SMRs) calculated using residence and patient-reported source. Both maps confirm significant inter-suburb variation in SMRs. Areas frequently named as the source (but not residence) and the highest-risk suburbs both tend to be tourist locations with vector mosquito habitat, and camping or outdoor recreational opportunities. We suggest the highest-risk suburbs as places to focus on for disease control measures. We also use a novel application of ambient population data (LandScan) to improve the interpretation of these risk maps and propose how this approach can aid in implementing disease abatement measures on a smaller scale than for which disease data are available.

Which Gridded Population Data Product Is Better? Evidences from Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA)

“…Among them, four of them are commonly applied in well-known academic journals and thematic reports or books, including the GPW [8], the Global Human Settlement Layer-Population (GHS-POP) [9], the WorldPop program [10] and the LandScan [11]. These spatially-explicit demographics were widely utilized in the studies of nature and humanities, e.g., environmental change and sustainable development [12,13], urban expansion and planning [14,15], household surveys and public health management [16,17], and disaster risk assessment and reduction [18,19], despite the critical significance of the national census.…”

Analysis and optimization of 15-minute community life circle based on supply and demand matching: A case study of Shanghai

“…LandScan is currently free for educational groups and is updated annually. Compared with census data, LandScan has a shorter update cycle, and the display of population distribution is closer to reality, including areas that are not included in census data, such as work areas, leisure and entertainment areas and other areas without residential functions [ 26 ]. In this study, the 2018 LandScan global population data set was preprocessed to obtain the Shanghai 2018 population data distribution map ( Fig 2 ).…”

Arthritogenic Alphaviruses: A Worldwide Emerging Threat?

“…As soon as detection occurs, intervention in mosquito habitats, using a combination of larvicides, adulticides, and removal of breeding sites, may be the best strategy [198,200,201,202]. Geovisualization tools might also help locate the source of infection to better target it [203]. Public outreach to educate individuals on how to avoid mosquito bites (e.g., protective clothing, mosquito repellents, and impregnated bed nets) is also common, but its effectiveness is still not clearly demonstrated [200].…”