Identification of places with potential transmission of dengue fever in Porto Alegre using Geographical Information Systems

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 246 - 250
• Main Authors: Barcellos, Christovam, Pustai, Adelaide Kreutz, Weber, Maria Angélica, Brito, Maria Regina Varnieri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Brazil Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 01-05-2005
• Subjects: Aedes; Animals; Brazil - epidemiology; Dengue - epidemiology; Dengue - transmission; Disease transmission; Environmental conditions; Environmental factors; Female; Geographic Information Systems; Housing; Humans; Insect Vectors; Male; Risk Factors; Sanitation; Socioeconomic Factors; Urban areas; Urban Health; Vector-borne diseases; Brazil
• ISSN: 0037-8682; 1678-9849
• DOI: 10.1590/S0037-86822005000300008

The social-environmental conditions that promote the continuity of Aedes aegypti in urban areas and its capacity for dengue transmission have yet to be determined. The aim of this work was to locate dengue cases and vector presence, then to identify social-environmental factors that characterize these sites, through Geographical Information Systems (GIS), with a view to developing a dengue fever prevention model. The vector was mainly located in south and east areas of the city, with a broad dispersion, while most of the cases were located in the central region of the city. The sectors with cases present characteristics of high income. Otherwise, sectors with vector present a predominance of houses and good sanitation infrastructure. The difference between cases and vector spatial patterns ensured for 2002 an absence of dengue transmission in the city.