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Published on: November 1, 2018
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Highway paving increased dengue transmission in the Peruvian Amazon
Alyson L Singleton1, Andres G Lescano2,3, Andrew J MacDonald4,5
1Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America.
Medrxiv : the Preprint Server for Health Sciences
|November 28, 2024
Summary
New highway construction significantly increased dengue fever cases in Peru by facilitating human mobility and disease spread. Infrastructure development must consider infectious disease risks in impact assessments.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Human mobility is a key factor in infectious disease transmission.
- The health impacts of infrastructure-driven mobility changes are often overlooked in assessments.
- Dengue fever is a significant mosquito-borne disease burden in tropical regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal link between infrastructure development, human mobility, and dengue transmission.
- To quantify the impact of highway paving on dengue incidence in Peru's Madre de Dios region.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a quasi-experimental, difference-in-differences approach.
- Analyzed historical road upgrade data as a proxy for human mobility changes.
- Compared dengue incidence near and far from the paved Interoceanic Highway before and after 2009.
Main Results:
- Highway paving led to at least 9,826 additional dengue cases (95% CI: 8,562-10,684).
- These cases represented 45.2% (95% CI: 39.4%-49.2%) of all regional dengue cases post-paving (2009-2022).
- Findings suggest infrastructure impacts dengue transmission via altered human movement.
Conclusions:
- Road infrastructure development, specifically highway paving, significantly increases dengue transmission.
- Future infrastructure impact assessments in tropical areas should incorporate potential increases in dengue.
- Integrating mobility changes into disease impact models is crucial for public health planning.
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