Title
Modelling the effect of local climatic variability on dengue transmission in Medellin (Colombia) by means temporary series analysis
Other title
Modelado del efecto de la variabilidad climática local sobre la transmisión de dengue en Medellín (Colombia) mediante análisis de series temporales
Date Issued
01 September 2013
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Rúa-Uribe G.
Suárez-Acosta C.
Almanza R.
Abstract
Introduction: Dengue fever is a major impact on public health vector-borne disease, and its transmission is influenced by entomological, sociocultural and economic factors. Additionally, climate variability plays an important role in the transmission dynamics. A large scientific consensus has indicated that the strong association between climatic variables and disease could be used to develop models to explain the incidence of the disease. Objective: To develop a model that provides a better understanding of dengue transmission dynamics in Medellin and predicts increases in the incidence of the disease. Materials and methods: The incidence of dengue fever was used as dependent variable, and weekly climatic factors (maximum, mean and minimum temperature, relative humidity and precipitation) as independent variables. Expert Modeler was used to develop a model to better explain the behavior of the disease. Climatic variables with significant association to the dependent variable were selected through ARIMA models. Results: The model explains 34% of observed variability. Precipitation was the climatic variable showing statistically significant association with the incidence of dengue fever, but with a 20 weeks delay. Conclusions: In Medellin, the transmission of dengue fever was influenced by climate variability, especially precipitation. The strong association dengue fever/precipitation allowed the construction of a model to help understand dengue transmission dynamics. This information will be useful to develop appropriate and timely strategies for dengue control.
Start page
142
End page
152
Volume
33
Issue
SUPPL.1
Language
Spanish
OCDE Knowledge area
Epidemiología
Meteorología y ciencias atmosféricas
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84890848410
PubMed ID
Source
Biomedica
ISSN of the container
01204157
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus