Abstract
Background Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne infectious disease, and it is now still epidemic in China, especially in Guangdong Province. Owing to the absence of dengue vaccination, effective preventive measure is critical for controlling of dengue fever. This study aimed to explore the individual risk factors of dengue virus infection in Guangdong Province, as well as to provide a scientific basis for prevention and supervision of dengue fever in future.
Methods A case-control study including 237 cases and 237 controls was performed. The data was collected from the epidemiological questionnaires. Univariate analysis was used for preliminary screening of 28 variables potentially related to dengue virus infection, and an unconditioned logistic regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis to analysis those statistically significant variables.
Results Multivariate analysis of the result showed three independent risk factors: activities in the park (odd ratio [OR]= 1.70, 95%CI 1.03 to 2.83), outdoor sports (OR= 1.67, 95%CI 1.07 to 2.62), and poor indoor daylight quality (OR= 2.27, 95%CI 1.00 to 5.15); and two protective factors: two persons per room (OR=0.43, 95%CI 0.28 to 0.67), three persons and above per room (OR=0.43, 95%CI 0.22 to 0.86), using air-condition (OR=0.43, 95%CI 0.20 to 0.93).
Conclusion These results are conducive to learn the risk factors for dengue virus infection in Guangdong Province. It is crucial to provide effective and efficient strategy to improve environmental protection and anti-mosquito measures. In addition, more systematic studies are needed to explore the other potential risk factors for dengue fever infection.
Author summary Dengue fever, one of the mosquito-borne infectious diseases, is mainly transmitted by Aedes aegypti in Asia and Southeast Asia countries. Since 1978, the incidence of dengue fever has markedly increased in China especially in Guangdong province. In order to formulate the effective prevention and control measures, we explored the risk factors of dengue virus infection in Guangdong Province by conducting a case-control study. In this study, 237 patients with dengue virus infection and 237 participants without dengue virus infection were included. Then through these questionnaires and data analysis, we found that activities in the park, outdoor sports, and poor indoor daylight quality significantly contributed to the residents’ risk of dengue virus infection. On the other hand, we observed that using air-condition and using anti-mosquito measures were effective personal prevention interventions.
