Spatial pattern assessment of dengue fever risk in subtropical urban environments: The case of Hong Kong

Abstract

Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne fatal disease, brings a huge health burden in tropical regions. With global warming, rapid urbanization and the expansion of mosquitoes, dengue fever is expected to spread to many subtropical regions, leading to increased potential health risks on local populations. So far, limited studies assessed the dengue fever risk spatially for subtropical non-endemic regions hindering the development of related public health management. Therefore, we proposed a spatial hazard-exposure-vulnerability assessment framework for mapping the dengue fever risk in Hong Kong. Firstly, the spatial distribution of the habitat suitability for Aedes albopictus, the mosquito proxy for the dengue fever hazard, was predicted using a species distribution model (e.g., MaxEnt) relying on a list of variables related to local climate, urban morphology, and landscape metrics. Secondly, the spatial autocorrelation between high dengue hazard and high human population exposure in urban areas was measured. Finally, the dengue fever risk was assessed at community scale by integrating the results of vulnerability analysis basing on census data. This approach allowed the identification of 17 high-risk spots within Hong Kong. The landscape metrics about land utilities and vegetations, and urban morphological characteristics are the influential factors on the spatial distribution of dengue vector. In addition, the underlying factors behind each hot spot were investigated, and specific suggestions for dengue prevention were proposed accordingly. The findings provide a useful reference for developing local dengue fever risk prevention measures, with the proposed method easily exportable to other high-density cities within subtropical Asia and elsewhere.