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Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Ross River Virus in Queensland, 2001-2020.

ABSTRACT: Ross River virus (RRV), the most common human arbovirus infection in Australia, causes significant morbidity and substantial medical costs. About half of Australian cases occur in Queensland. We describe the spatial and temporal patterns of RRV disease in Queensland over the past two decades. RRV notifications, human population data, and weather data from 2001 to 2020 were analysed by the Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) area. Spatial interpolation or linear extrapolation were used for missing weather values and the estimated population in 2020, respectively. Notifications and incidence rates were analysed through space and time. During the study period, there were 43,699 notifications in Queensland. The highest annual number of notifications was recorded in 2015 (6182), followed by 2020 (3160). The average annual incidence rate was 5 per 10,000 people and the peak period for RRV notifications was March to May. Generally, SA2 areas in northern Queensland had higher numbers of notifications and higher incidence rates than SA2 areas in southern Queensland. The SA2 areas with high incidence rates were in east coastal areas and western Queensland. The timely prediction may aid disease prevention and routine vector control programs, and RRV management plans are important for these areas.

SUBMITTER: Qian W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8396220 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundRoss River virus (RRV) is responsible for the most common vector-borne disease of humans reported in Australia. The virus circulates in enzootic cycles between multiple species of mosquitoes, wildlife reservoir hosts and humans. Public health concern about RRV is increasing due to rising incidence rates in Australian urban centres, along with increased circulation in Pacific Island countries. Australia experienced its largest recorded outbreak of 9544 cases in 2015, with the majority reported from south east Queensland (SEQ). This study examined potential links between disease patterns and transmission pathways of RRV.MethodsThe spatial and temporal distribution of notified RRV cases, and associated epidemiological features in SEQ, were analysed for the period 2001-2016. This included fine-scale analysis of disease patterns across the suburbs of the capital city of Brisbane, and those of 8 adjacent Local Government Areas, and host spot analyses to identify locations with significantly high incidence.ResultsThe mean annual incidence rate for the region was 41/100,000 with a consistent seasonal peak in cases between February and May. The highest RRV incidence was in adults aged from 30 to 64 years (mean incidence rate: 59/100,000), and females had higher incidence rates than males (mean incidence rates: 44/100,000 and 34/100,000, respectively). Spatial patterns of disease were heterogeneous between years, and there was a wide distribution of disease across both urban and rural areas of SEQ. Overall, the highest incidence rates were reported from predominantly rural suburbs to the north of Brisbane City, with significant hot spots located in peri-urban suburbs where residential, agricultural and conserved natural land use types intersect.ConclusionsAlthough RRV is endemic across all of SEQ, transmission is most concentrated in areas where urban and peri-urban environments intersect. The drivers of RRV transmission across rural-urban landscapes should be prioritised for further investigation, including identification of specific vectors and hosts that mediate human spillover.

Project description:BackgroundStatistical models are regularly used in the forecasting and surveillance of infectious diseases to guide public health. Variable selection assists in determining factors associated with disease transmission, however, often overlooked in this process is the evaluation and suitability of the statistical model used in forecasting disease transmission and outbreaks. Here we aim to evaluate several modelling methods to optimise predictive modelling of Ross River virus (RRV) disease notifications and outbreaks in epidemiological important regions of Victoria and Western Australia.Methodology/principal findingsWe developed several statistical methods using meteorological and RRV surveillance data from July 2000 until June 2018 in Victoria and from July 1991 until June 2018 in Western Australia. Models were developed for 11 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Victoria and seven LGAs in Western Australia. We found generalised additive models and generalised boosted regression models, and generalised additive models and negative binomial models to be the best fit models when predicting RRV outbreaks and notifications, respectively. No association was found with a model's ability to predict RRV notifications in LGAs with greater RRV activity, or for outbreak predictions to have a higher accuracy in LGAs with greater RRV notifications. Moreover, we assessed the use of factor analysis to generate independent variables used in predictive modelling. In the majority of LGAs, this method did not result in better model predictive performance.Conclusions/significanceWe demonstrate that models which are developed and used for predicting disease notifications may not be suitable for predicting disease outbreaks, or vice versa. Furthermore, poor predictive performance in modelling disease transmissions may be the result of inappropriate model selection methods. Our findings provide approaches and methods to facilitate the selection of the best fit statistical model for predicting mosquito-borne disease notifications and outbreaks used for disease surveillance.

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Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Ross River Virus in Queensland, 2001-2020.

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