Community context and sub-neighborhood scale detail to explain dengue, chikungunya and Zika patterns in Cali, Colombia

PLoS One. 2017 Aug 2;12(8):e0181208. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181208. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Background: Cali, Colombia has experienced chikungunya and Zika outbreaks and hypoendemic dengue. Studies have explained Cali's dengue patterns but lack the sub-neighborhood-scale detail investigated here.

Methods: Spatial-video geonarratives (SVG) with Ministry of Health officials and Community Health Workers were collected in hotspots, providing perspective on perceptions of why dengue, chikungunya and Zika hotspots exist, impediments to control, and social outcomes. Using spatial video and Google Street View, sub-neighborhood features possibly contributing to incidence were mapped to create risk surfaces, later compared with dengue, chikungunya and Zika case data.

Results: SVG captured insights in 24 neighborhoods. Trash and water risks in Calipso were mapped using SVG results. Perceived risk factors included proximity to standing water, canals, poverty, invasions, localized violence and military migration. These risks overlapped case density maps and identified areas that are suitable for transmission but are possibly underreporting to the surveillance system.

Conclusion: Resulting risk maps with local context could be leveraged to increase vector-control efficiency- targeting key areas of environmental risk.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Chikungunya Fever / epidemiology*
  • Chikungunya Fever / transmission
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Colombia / epidemiology
  • Dengue / epidemiology*
  • Dengue / transmission
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Female
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Risk Factors
  • Video Recording
  • Young Adult
  • Zika Virus Infection / epidemiology*
  • Zika Virus Infection / transmission

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.