Hotspot Analysis of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Abstract

Background: Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) in Vietnam remains a serious emerging arboviral disease, which generates significant concerns among international health authorities. Incidence rates of DHF have increased significantly during the last few years in many provinces and cities, especially Ho Chi Minh. The purpose of this study is to carried out a a study on analysis of hotspots of DHF in the Ho Chi Minh city. Methods: The Getis-Ord’s statistic-based hotspot analysis was employed to study spatial patterns (hotspots and coldspot) of DHF incidence. Results: a case study from a dataset of DHF collected in Ho Chi Minh city has indicated that a total of four hotspots of DHF were successfully detected. These hotspots were identified in Hoc Mon, District 12, Binh Tan, and District 7. In addition, 18 districts were not statistically significant at the level of 0.05. Conclusions: There was evidence for the existence of statistically significant clusters of DHF in Ho Chi Minh. The study results prove the effectiveness of Getis-Ord’s statistic-based hotspot analysis in studies of DHF. Findings in this study serves as a starting point for further research into the social and environmental factors influencing spatial patterns of DHF. Keywords: Hotspot analysis and Coldspot analysis, Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, Getis-Ord’s G_i^* statistic, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.