Machine Learning Approach to Predict the Dengue Cases Based on Climate Factors

Abstract

Dengue is a global health issue threatening public health, particularly in developing countries. Effective disease surveillance is critical to anticipate impending outbreaks and implement appropriate control responses. However, delays in dengue case reporting are frequent due to human resource shortfalls. Improved outbreak predictive capacity also requires additional input on vector presence and abundance, which is currently not captured in the surveillance platform. Thus, we developed a prototype AI application, “Dengue Forecasting", that leverages machine learning methods in filing the dengue case report and incorporates dengue vector and climatic parameters. This application simplifies the recording of dengue cases, vector abundance (Angka Bebas Jentik/ABJ), and selected climatic variables (sun exposure, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and precipitation) in Bandung City. The relevant data were extracted from Indonesia’s Ministry of Health and the Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency. The entire process, from developing the model to deployment, was conducted under R programming language version 4.2.2 using packages (caret, shiny.io). The linear regression model demonstrated the highest precision (RMSE= 268.32 and MAE= 164.1) in predicting the dengue cases and outbreaks. We also applied this to the application deployment. “Dengue Forecasting” has the potential to assist policymakers at the district level, complementing Dengue EWARS, in anticipating and mitigating dengue outbreaks, especially in Bandung City.