Abstract
BackgroundVisceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected disease that is spread to humans by the bites of infected female phlebotomine sand flies. Although this vector-borne disease has been eliminated in most parts of China, it still poses a significant public health burden in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Understanding of the spatial epidemiology of the disease remains vague in the local community. In the present study, we investigated the spatiotemporal distribution of VL in the region in order to assess the potential threat of the disease.MethodsBased on comprehensive infection records, the spatiotemporal patterns of new cases of VL in the region between 2005 and 2015 were analysed. By combining maps of environmental and socioeconomic correlates, the boosted regression tree (BRT) model was adopted to identify the environmental niche of VL.ResultsThe fitted BRT models were used to map potential infection risk zones of VL in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, revealing that the predicted high infection risk zones were mainly concentrated in central and northern Kashgar Prefecture, south of Atushi City bordering Kashgar Prefecture and regions of the northern Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture. The final result revealed that approximately 16.64 million people inhabited the predicted potential infection risk areas in the region.ConclusionsOur results provide a better understanding of the potential endemic foci of VL in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region with a 1 km spatial resolution, thereby enhancing our capacity to target the potential risk areas, to develop disease control strategies and to allocate medical supplies.
Highlights
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected disease that is spread to humans by the bites of infected female phlebotomine sand flies
The objectives of this study were to analyse the spatiotemporal dynamic patterns of VL cases in Xinjiang from 2005 to 2015, to identify the environmental niche of VL, to map the potential zones of VL infection risk at high spatial resolution (1 km) and to provide novel insights into the health burden imposed by VL in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
There was a significant increase in the number of new cases in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, increasing from 131 in 2007 to 340 in 2008
Summary
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected disease that is spread to humans by the bites of infected female phlebotomine sand flies. This vector-borne disease has been eliminated in most parts of China, it still poses a significant public health burden in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. A national comprehensive control programme was designed and implemented stringently by the government of the People’s Republic of China at all administrative levels to eliminate VL from most areas of endemicity, resulting in a steady decline in the number of reported cases during the subsequent decades [10, 14,15,16]. There were 2629 new cases officially reported in the 1990s, and approximately 38.8% of them occurred in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
