Spatial pattern distribution of dengue fever in sub-urban area using GIS tools

Dengue fever (DF) is one of the major public health problems in Malaysia. The number of cases recorded is always fluctuating. The aim of the study is to identify the high-risk area for the occurrence of dengue disease. Spatial-temporal model was used by measuring three characteristics which are frequency, duration and intensity to define the severity and magnitude of outbreak transmission. This study examined a total of 386 registered dengue fever cases, geo-coded by address in Jempol district between January 2011 and December 2015. Even though case notification figures are subjected to bias, this information is available in the health services. It may lead to crucial conclusion, recommendations, and hypotheses. Public health officials can utilize the temporal risk indices to describe dengue relatively than relying on the traditional case incident figures

Geospatial Technology in Sustainable Cities and Communities: Introduction to the Special Issue

This special issue aims to demonstrate how we could leverage geospatial technology for sustainable cities and communities. Contributions on a wide range of geospatial technologies (e.g., GIS, remote sensing, spatial statistics, photogrammetry, and geomatics) as well as issues addressing better cities and communities for a sustainable future are encouraged. This issue contains selected papers from the 7th International Conference on Geomatics and Geospatial Technology (GGT) 2021, which took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 24th March 2021. The five articles selected for this special issue demonstrate how geospatial technology can be used to create more sustainable cities and communities. The diverse applications of geospatial technology were demonstrated in each manuscript, sending a clear message that geospatial technology goes beyond visualization and incorporates intelligence and analysis to provide you with geospatial solutions

Breeding Characteristics of Aedes Mosquitoes in Dengue Risk Area

AbstractThere are varying ranges of habitats that have different characteristics of water for the breeding of mosquito. A house-to-house cross-sectional entomological survey was carried out at peridomestic area to detect larval breeding sites. Aedes albopictus was the predominant species in the container-breeding habitats. Most of the breeding habitats were class into high level of larval density. Turbidity, pH, TOC, magnesium, calcium and sodium is among the characteristics that shows a significant difference with the larval density and species composition respectively. As conclusion, characteristics of the mosquito breeding area can affect the larval density and give impact on the quality of life

Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Dengue Cases in Peninsular Malaysia: A five-year analysis from 2016 to 2020

Dengue fever is one of the most common vector-borne diseases spread by Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti mosquitos. The regional and temporal trends of dengue cases in East Malaysia are investigated in this study. The study aims to assess the prevalence of dengue cases across 91 districts in Peninsular Malaysia from 2016 to 2020 and, hence, to identify dengue disease's hotspot and cold spot regions. By using ArcGIS, summarised yearly data of dengue cases were analysed. The study results showed that dengue cases mainly occurred in the central part of Peninsular Malaysia. Keywords: GIS; Vector-borne diseases; Aedes; Spatial epidemiology eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i20.348

Assessing the Risk of Dengue Fever based on the Epidemiological, Environmental and Entomological Variables

AbstractDengue fever is an infectious vector-borne disease in Malaysia. Descriptive spatial analysis indicated the DF infection was normally distributed in urban area. As for the environmental attributes, there was no significant difference except for the existence of abandoned houses across the study area. As for breeding index, it was found to be high in all temporal indices in the locality. However, it was noteworthy that there was a significant difference in the preferred breeding containers in all temporal risk indices. As a conclusion, the risk factors for Aedes mosquito breeding sites should be considered in carrying an effective vector control

Molecular characterization of aedes albopictus (diptera:culicidae) from hot spot dengue-infested areas / Siti Nazrina Camalxaman, Prof Madya Rodziah Ismail and Dr. Nazri Che Dom

Laboratory work and thesis writing has been completed within one and a half years. The aim of this study is to characterize the genetic diversity and evolutionary relationship of Ae. albopictus collected from dengue cluster areas based on the CO1 gene as a genetic marker. Local sequences will be amplified and compared, results obtained will help determine the genetic diversity, geographic origin and future expansion of Ae. albopictus. The distribution and infection frequencies of Wolbachia in local Ae. albopictus is currently unknown also forms the basis of this study. Broadly, findings from this study are expected to provide a new perspective aimed to improve current vector control and surveillance program. One of the approaches that could mitigate the spread and threat of dengue would be by improving the current understanding of the vector biology and enhancing vector control strategies. This in turn necessitates the need to characterize the vector itself, and the determination of the prevalence of Wolbachia in these vectors for biological control based approaches (Bonizzoni, Gasperi, Chen, & James, 2013). Wolbachia is an endosymbiotic alpha-proteobacteria that infects more than 70% of insect species worldwide including a variety of arthropods (Miller, 2013). The potential of Wolbachia to manipulate various functional systems of its hosts affects several aspects of host biology, physiology, immunity, ecology and evolution as well as reproductive properties including feminization, parthenogenesis, male killing and most commonly, cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) (Werren, 1997). This intracellular bacteria functions as reproductive parasites and has been proposed for the future development of a symbiont-based control approach to tackle Ae. albopictus population (Bourtzis et al., 2014). In tandem, data regarding the natural infection frequency of Wolbachia in Ae. albopictus and the effectiveness of its transmission rates are essential to evaluate its use as a candidate vehicle to modify vector populations (Mains, Brelsfoard, Crain, Huang, & Dobson, 2013). Morphological characterization using DNA barcoding methods that utilize cytochrome oxidase subunit I (CO1) gene has been widely used in the past to attain information regarding mosquito taxonomy (Besansky, Severson, & Ferdig, 2003; Meier & Zhang, 2008). In addition, it has also been used for diagnostic purposes of specific target species. Most research to date focuses on spatial distribution and abundance of Aedes vectors, but scarce information exists regarding the phylogenetic and evolutionary relationship among the vectors at specific localities in Malaysia. Recently, a temporal model using climate variables was developed to forecast dengue cases in Subang Jaya (Dom, Ahmad, Latif, & Ismail, 2013). This model proved to be useful in predicting dengue cases and reinforces previous studies using different modalities and risk assessment methods (Dom, Ahmad, Latif, Ismail, & Pradhan, 2012a; Dom, Latif, Ahmad, Ismail, & Pradhan, 2012b). Such hotspots described by Dom et al. (2013) could now serve as a platform to determine the prevalence and distribution of both the DENV and the vector of choice

Urban Microclimate Impacts on Aedes Mosquitoes’ Life Cycle: A Concept Paper

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are two types of Aedes spp. responsible for the spreading of dengue in urban settings. Over the years, dengue remained a significant public health concern due to its disease burden worldwide. Urban microclimate factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall have long been known to influence the increase or decrease of Aedes spp. density in urban settings due to their impact on the mosquitoes' life cycle. This concept paper intends to provide a conceptual framework for determining the impact of urban microclimate on the Aedes mosquito development life cycle in urban settings

Coupling of remote sensing data and environmental-related parameters for dengue transmission risk assessment in Subang Jaya, Malaysia.

In Malaysia, the endemic level of dengue fever (DF) has already changed morbidity indicators, and the magnitude of these incidences in the last few years has surpassed the incidences of all other diseases of compulsory notification. The reasons for the dramatic emergence of DF are complex and not well understood. There are many factors that contribute to the epidemiological conditions that favour viral transmission by the main mosquito vector. This study, therefore, is filling this gap by analysing the impact of dengue incidence at a local (Subang Jaya) scale using environmental factors. Meteorological data and land-use pattern were consolidated using geographic information system (GIS) and its components as an analytical tool. We have shown that weather variables (relative humidity, temperature and precipitation) have significant correlation with DF incidence with seasonal variation. Besides land-use pattern, DF incidence shows the higher distribution in the residential area, followed by commercial and industrial area. This is due to the higher population density in residential area as well as favourable places for the breeding of dengue-carrying Aedes mosquitos created by humans in the residential area, especially one-storey houses. The analysis on the trends of DF incidence towards various housing types indicate that most of the victims’ houses fall into interconnection houses and mixed houses types compared to the independent houses area. The outcome driven from this analysis suggested that each character of the environmental factors has their own risk towards dengue incidence. In line with that, it is possible to develop a dynamic model of DF transmission using the knowledge produced by this comprehensive time series data and the results provided by the different analyses

Noise-Induced Cortisol Assessment among Young Motorcyclist: A field study

Saliva cortisol response was investigated from the motorcycling exposure for approximately 50 minutes between low and high noise-sensitive (Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Scale) young riders (19-25 years). The results showed significant difference (p < 0.05) in salivary cortisol concentrations in High-Noise Sensitive group (n=27). Significant gender differences were found (p < 0.05) among the Low-Noise sensitive group (n=30), after ride. Cross-analysis between groups was significant (p < 0.05) for before ride cortisol levels of Low-Noise sensitive group. This study suggests that subjective noise sensitivity plays a vital role in increased cortisol level among noise sensitive riders. Keywords: Noise; Salivary cortisol; Noise sensitivity; Motorcycle. eISSN 2398-4279 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ajqol.v3i13.16

Integration of GIS-Based Model with Epidemiological data as a Tool for Dengue Surveillance

This study aims to fully integrated and validated spatial temporal statistical model using epidemiological data as a predictive model for surveillance and control of DF cases. Kernel-density estimation (KDE) method was carried out by using spatial union analysis in order to predict and visualize the DF hotspot area by monthly basis in the Subang Jaya area. The generated maps were then verified using Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) was performed to validate the DF hotspot simulation model. Spatial analysis showed that the dengue epidemics in Subang Jaya were spatially dependent. This analysis demonstrated spatial clustering of dengue activity which can facilitate prediction of the magnitude, timing and location of future dengue epidemic. The model developed highlights the adaptation capabilities of the approach where the accuracy assessment result showed accuracy about 60% agreements between the hotspot map and the actual DF location data. It can thus be suggested that any future population increase will be associated with increased DF risk in areas which already accommodate this disease environmentally, climatically and socioeconomically. Future risk could be modelled using the same methods. This would help decision maker in choosing which areas should be under intensive treatment to counter mosquito breeding and reduce prevalence of DF