Spatial-temporal analysis of dengue deaths: identifying social vulnerabilities

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Maria do Socorro da Silva, Maria dos Remédios Freitas Carvalho Branco, José Aquino Junior, Rejane Christine de Sousa Queiroz, Emanuele Bani, Emnielle Pinto Borges Moreira, Maria Nilza Lima Medeiros, Zulimar Márita Ribeiro Rodrigues
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Dengue fever; Death; Spatial analysis; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0272-2016; https://doaj.org/article/1f904be869f24dafb0c44bcf007c3ea9

Abstract: INTRODUCTION Currently, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and zika virus represent serious public health issues in Brazil, despite efforts to control the vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito. METHODS: This was a descriptive and ecological study of dengue deaths occurring from 2002 to 2013 in São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil. Geoprocessing software was used to draw maps, linking the geo-referenced deaths with urban/social data at census tract level. RESULTS: There were 74 deaths, concentrated in areas of social vulnerability. CONCLUSIONS: The use of geo-technology tools pointed to a concentration of dengue deaths in specific intra-urban areas.