Construction sites as an important driver of dengue transmission: implications for disease control

Liang, Shaohong; Hapuarachchi, Hapuarachchige Chanditha; Rajarethinam, Jayanthi; Koo, Carmen; Tang, Choon-Siang; Chong, Chin Soon; Ng, Lee Ching; Yap, Grace

doi:10.1186/s12879-018-3311-6

Cited by 32 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…In addition, the factors including the densely populated construction sites, the strong labor intensity, high temperature, are significantly related to the increase in the number of dengue fever cases [37]. Moreover, due to the high level of urbanization in China, construction sites are emerging one after another, along with a large population of construction workers and massive mobility [11]. Once external cases are imported, dengue fever may be prevalent on the construction sites, which leads to disease outbreaks in surrounding communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A full-blown local dengue fever outbreak occurred in 2010 at a construction site in Shenzhen City, China, which was the first of its kind in the city's history [10]. A study published in 2018 also suggested that the overall case burden of construction site-associated clusters was significantly high through three case studies of large construction site-associated dengue clusters during 2013-2016 [11]. These all suggests that construction sites may play an important role as a driver of sustained dengue transmission, modeling the transmission routes on construction sites with large population mobility is helpful to implement effective disease control and prevention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dengue fever transmission between construction site and its surrounding communities in China

Liu

Zhang

Cheng

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Because of the urbanization and the lack of basic mosquito control facilities, constructions sites might increase the transmission risk of dengue. For example, the outbreak in Zhanjiang Prefecture, China, 2018, started at a construction site, then spread to surrounding communities. This study aims to investigate how to effectively reduce the dengue transmission risk related to construction sites.Methods: The study was based on an outbreak of dengue fever (DF) occurred in Zhanjiang Prefecture, Guangdong Province in 2018. We simulated the transmission of dengue virus between human and mosquitoes at the construction site and in the neighboring community separately, as well between them by assuming human movement between the construction site and the neighboring community. Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious/Asymptomatic-Recovered (SEIAR) model was used for the human, while SEI model was used for the mosquitoes. We obtained the transmissibility parameters by fitting the model to observed number of incident cases before local interventions started and the coefficient of determination (R2) was used to quantify the significance of the fit. We then evaluated the effectiveness of different intervention scenarios targeting at reducing the transmissibility between different human and mosquito subpopulations at different locations (i.e. construction sites and community) quantified by the total attack rate (TAR) and duration of the outbreak (DO).Results: A total of 467 cases of dengue fever were reported in Zhanjiang Prefecture in 2018, among which 102 were located at a construction site and 131 were located in the surrounding community. The values of R2 were 0.829 (P < 0.001) and 0.878 (P < 0.001) for the construction site and the community, respectively. The modelling outcome indicated that without interventions, the number of cases on the construction site would reach to 156, yielding a total attack rate (TAR) of 31.25% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 27.18%- 35.31%). In the community, the number of the cases would be much more than the reported data and up to 10796, yielding a TAR of 21.59% (95%CI: 21.23%- 21.95%). When the transmission route from mosquitoes to people is cut off in the community, the number of cases in the community would decrease to a minimum of 33 compared with other situations we simulated, yielding a TAR of 0.068% (95%CI: 0.05%- 0.09%) and a duration of outbreak (DO) of 60 days. When the transmission route from infectious mosquitoes in the community and the construction site to susceptible people on the construction site is cut off at the same time, the number of cases in the construction site would drop to a minimum of 74, yielding a TAR of 14.88% (95%CI: 11.76%- 18.00%) and a DO of 66 days.Conclusions: Construction sites may facilitate the dengue outbreaks into neighboring communities, SEIAR-SEI model can be efficiently applied to simulate outbreaks of dengue fever. Cutting off the transmission routes and properly controlling vectors in communities is an effective measure to control this disease.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dengue fever transmission between construction site and its surrounding communities in China

Liu

Zhang

Cheng

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, due to the high level of urbanization in China, construction sites are emerging one after another, along with a large population of construction workers and massive mobility [9]. Once external cases are imported, DF may be prevalent on the construction sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After case importation, construction sites are more likely to have secondary cases, which may then increase the number of cases entering the community and the chance of community transmission. A study published in 2018 also suggested that the overall case burden of construction siteassociated clusters was significantly high through three case studies of large construction siteassociated dengue clusters during 2013-2016 [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Dengue fever transmission between construction site and its surrounding communities in China

Liu

Zhang

Cheng

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Due to more mosquito habitats and the lack of basic mosquito control facilities, construction sites are more likely to have secondary cases after case importation, which may increase the number of cases entering the community and the chance of community transmission. For example, the outbreak in Zhanjiang Prefecture, China, 2018, started at a construction site, then occurred in the surrounding communities. This study aims to investigate how to effectively reduce the dengue transmission risk related to construction sites and the neighboring communities.Methods: The study was based on an outbreak of dengue fever (DF) occurred in Zhanjiang Prefecture, Guangdong Province in 2018. We simulated the transmission of dengue virus between human and mosquitoes at the construction site and in the neighboring community separately, as well between them by assuming human movement between the construction site and the neighboring community. Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious/Asymptomatic-Recovered (SEIAR) model was used for the human, while SEI model was used for the mosquitoes. We obtained the transmissibility parameters by fitting the model to observed number of locally acquired cases before local interventions started and the coefficient of determination (R2) was used to quantify the significance of the fit. We then evaluated the effectiveness of different intervention scenarios targeting at reducing the transmissibility between different human and mosquito subpopulations at different locations (i.e. construction sites and community) quantified by the total attack rate (TAR) and duration of the outbreak (DO).Results: A total of 467 DF cases were reported in Zhanjiang Prefecture in 2018, among which 102 were located at a construction site and 131 were located in the surrounding community. The values of R2 were 0.829 (P < 0.001) and 0.878 (P < 0.001) for the construction site and the community, respectively. The modelling outcome indicated that without interventions, the number of cases on the construction site would reach to 156, yielding a total attack rate (TAR) of 31.25% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 27.18%- 35.31%). In the community, the number of the cases would be much more than the reported data and up to 10796, yielding a TAR of 21.59% (95%CI: 21.23%- 21.95%). When the transmission route from mosquitoes to people is cut off in the community, the number of cases in the community would decrease to a minimum of 33 compared with other situations we simulated, yielding a TAR of 0.068% (95%CI: 0.05%- 0.09%) and a duration of outbreak (DO) of 60 days. When the transmission route from infectious mosquitoes in the community and the construction site to susceptible people on the construction site is cut off at the same time, the number of cases in the construction site would drop to a minimum of 74, yielding a TAR of 14.88% (95%CI: 11.76%- 18.00%) and a DO of 66 days.Conclusions: Without intervention, DF could spread rapidly in the densely populated communities around the construction site. To control the outbreak effectively for both the construction site and the community, interventions need to be taken to reduce the transmission within the community and from the community to the construction site. Only controlling the transmission within the construction site could not reduce the number of cases on the construction site, and controlling the transmission route within the construction site or between the construction site and the community could not lead to a reduction in the number of cases in the community.

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“…Construction sites play an important role as a driver of sustained dengue transmission [37], since rainwater-filled land excavation holes, construction materials, and equipment (e.g., water tanks, skips, canvas sheeting) can become Aedes habitats. The Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL) is therefore an important partner for NEA.…”

Section: Intra-and Intersectoral Collaborationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A greener vision for vector control: The example of the Singapore dengue control programme

Sim

Lindsay

et al. 2020

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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Vector-borne diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Aedesborne diseases, in particular, including dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika, are increasing at an alarming rate due to urbanisation, population movement, weak vector control programmes, and climate change. The World Health Organization calls for strengthening of vector control programmes in line with the Global Vector Control Response (GVCR) strategy, and many vector control programmes are transitioning to this new approach. The Singapore dengue control programme, situated within the country's larger vision of a clean, green, and sustainable environment for the health and well-being of its citizens, provides an excellent example of the GVCR approach in action. Since establishing vector control operations in the 1960s, the Singapore dengue control programme succeeded in reducing the dengue force of infection 10-fold by the 1990s and has maintained it at low levels ever since. Key to this success is consideration of dengue as an environmental disease, with a strong focus on source reduction and other environmental management methods as the dominant vector control strategy. The programme collaborates closely with other government ministries, as well as town councils, communities, the private sector, and academic and research institutions. Community engagement programmes encourage source reduction, and house-to-house inspections accompanied by a strong legislative framework with monetary penalties help to support compliance. Strong vector and epidemiological surveillance means that routine control activities can be heightened to specifically target dengue clusters. Despite its success, the programme continues to innovate to tackle challenges such as climate change, low herd immunity, and manpower constraints. Initiatives include development of novel vector controls such as Wolbachia-infected males and spatiotemporal models for dengue risk assessment. Lessons learnt from the Singapore programme can be applied to other settings, even those less well-resourced than Singapore, for more effective vector control.

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Construction sites as an important driver of dengue transmission: implications for disease control

Cited by 32 publications

References 15 publications

Dengue fever transmission between construction site and its surrounding communities in China

Dengue fever transmission between construction site and its surrounding communities in China

Dengue fever transmission between construction site and its surrounding communities in China

A greener vision for vector control: The example of the Singapore dengue control programme

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