A Brief description of the epidemiology of dengue in Dili, Timor-Leste, 2018–2022

Authors

  • Filipe de Neri Machado Instituto Nacional de Saúde Pública de Timor-Leste, Comoro, Timor-Leste
  • Anthony DK Draper Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Dili, Timor-Leste; National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia; Centre for Disease Control, Public Health Unit, Top End Health Service, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
  • Frederico Bosco Alves dos Santos Instituto Nacional de Saúde Pública de Timor-Leste, Comoro, Timor-Leste
  • Marcelo Amaral Mali Instituto Nacional de Saúde Pública de Timor-Leste, Comoro, Timor-Leste
  • Ari J Pereira Tilman Laboratorio Nacional da Saude, Bidau, Timor-Leste
  • Endang Soares da Silva Laboratorio Nacional da Saude, Bidau, Timor-Leste
  • Noel Gama Soares Surveillance Department, Municipality of Dili, Ministry of Health, Bairo Central, Timor-Leste
  • Nevio Sarmento Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Dili, Timor-Leste
  • Maria AV Niha Surveillance Department, Ministry of Health, Caicoli, Timor-Leste; World Health Organization, Timor-Leste Office, Caicoli, Timor-Leste
  • Ana Fatima Soares Surveillance Department, Ministry of Health, Caicoli, Timor-Leste
  • Abdoulie Taal STOP Program, World Health Organization, Dili, Timor-Leste
  • Joshua R Francis Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Dili, Timor-Leste
  • Jennifer Yan Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Dili, Timor-Leste
  • Megge Miller Field Epidemiology In Action, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia
  • James Flint Field Epidemiology In Action, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2024.48.16

Keywords:

dengue virus, arbovirus, mosquito borne disease, surveillance, Timor-Leste, low-resource setting

Abstract

Dengue virus (DENV) infection causes 390 million infections per year and 40,000 deaths globally. It is endemic in many countries in Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, and Oceania. Dengue is endemic in Timor-Leste year-round, but peak transmission occurs during the rainy season. We briefly describe the epidemiology of DENV in the Municipality of Dili between 2018 and 2022. There were 6,234 cases notified, with a mean annual incidence rate of 330 cases per 100,000 population. There were 55 deaths (case fatality rate 0.9%). The peak annual incidence (3,904 cases) occurred in 2022 after an outbreak was declared in January of that year; this outbreak included 760 cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever and 35 deaths. The number of outbreak cases requiring hospital treatment exceeded the usual capacity, but facilities established for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) isolation and treatment were repurposed to meet this demand. Existing strategies of vector control, minimising breeding sites and promoting early presentation for treatment should continue, as should the utilisation of surveillance systems and treatment facilities established during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, DENV incidence remains high, and other DENV control strategies—including the deployment of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes—should be considered in Timor-Leste.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

World Bank. The World Bank in Timor-Leste: Overview. [Internet.] Washington DC: World Bank; April 2022. Available from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/timor-leste/overview.

Government of Timor-Leste. About Timor-Leste. [Internet.] Dili: Government of Timor-Leste; 2022. Available from: http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=547&lang=en.

Government of Timor-Leste. Administrative Division. [Internet.] Dili: Government of Timor-Leste; 2022. Available from: http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=91&lang=en.

Government of Timor-Leste. About Timor-Leste: Geography and Climate. [Webpage.] Dili: Government of Timor-Leste; 2023. Available from https://www.timorleste.tl/east-timor/about/geography-climate.

Wangdi K, Clements ACA, Du T, Nery SV. Spatial and temporal patterns of dengue infections in Timor-Leste, 2005–2013. Parasit Vectors. 2018;11(1):9. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-017-2588-4.

Brady OJ, Gething PW, Bhatt S, Messina JP, Brownstein JS, Hoen AG et al. Refining the global spatial limits of dengue virus transmission by evidence-based consensus. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2012;6(8): e1760. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0001760.

World Health Organization (WHO). Dengue and severe dengue. [Webpage.] Geneva: WHO; 17 March 2023. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dengue-and-severe-dengue.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About dengue: what you need to know. [Webpage.] Atlanta: Government of the United States of America, Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 14 June 2023. Available from https://www.cdc.gov/dengue/about/index.html.

Wilder-Smith A. Dengue. In Heymann DL, ed. Control of Communicable Diseases Manual. 20th ed. Fort Worth: American Public Health Association, APHA Press, 2015.

Quintero J, Brochero H, Manrique-Saide P, Barrera-Pérez M, Basso C, Romero S et al. Ecological, biological and social dimensions of dengue vector breeding in five urban settings of Latin America: a multi-country study. BMC Infect Dis. 2014;14:38. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-14-38.

García-Betancourt T, Higuera-Mendieta DR, González-Uribe C, Cortés S, Quintero J. Understanding water storage practices of urban residents of an endemic dengue area in Colombia: perceptions, rationale and socio-demographic characteristics. PLoS One. 2015;10(6):e0129054. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0129054.

Timor-Leste Ministry of Health. Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response. A guideline for implementation in Timor-Leste. Dili: Government of Timor-Leste Ministry of Health; September 2022. Available from: https://apps.ms.gov.tl/moh2/idsr.php?lan=eng&p1=003&p2=007&p3=008&p4=009&p5=010.

Government of Timor-Leste Office of the Prime Minister. Timor-Leste declares the State of Calamity. [Webpage.] Dili: Government of Timor-Leste Office of the Prime Minister; 2022. Accessed from: https://www.gpm.gov.tl/en/timor-leste-iha-estadu-kalamidade/.

Timor-Leste Ministry of Health. National Guidance on Surveillance and Contact Management of COVID-19 for Timor-Leste. Dili: Government of Timor-Leste, Ministry of Health; 2020.

Government of Timor-Leste. Jornal da República – Publicação Oficial da República Democrática de Timor-Leste. Numero Extraordinario. Diploma Ministerial N.º 42 /2021 de 12 de Julho. Define as regras de cumprimento do isolamento terapêutico obrigatório na residência. Dili: Government of Timor-Leste; 12 July 2021. Available from: http://timor-leste.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/SERIE-I-N.-28-C1.pdf

Government of Timor-Leste. National Guidelines for Clinical Management of DENGUE 2022. Dili: Government of Timor-Leste Ministry of Health; 12 December 2022. Available from: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/2021-dha-docs/5_national-clinical-guideline-of-dengue-timor-leste_clean_final-12-dec-2022.pdf.

Government of Timor-Leste. Inisiativa limpeza jerál mantein no hala’o nafatin kada sexta-feira (General cleaning initiative continues and will now take place every Friday). [Media release.] Dili: Government of Timor-Leste; 3 February 2022. Available from: http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=30047&lang=en.

O’Neill SL, Ryan PA, Turley AP, Wilson G, Retzki K, Iturbe-Ormaetxe I et al. Scaled deployment of Wolbachia to protect the community from dengue and other Aedes transmitted arboviruses. Gates Open Res. 2019;2:36. doi: https://doi.org/10.12688/gatesopenres.12844.3.

Utarini A, Indriani C, Ahmad RA, Tantowijoyo W, Arguni E, Ansari MR et al. Efficacy of Wolbachia-infected mosquito deployments for the control of dengue. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(23):2177–86. doi: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2030243.

World Mosquito Program (WMP). Global Progress – Yogyakarta. [Webpage.] Melbourne: Monash University, WMP; 2023. Available from: https://www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/en/global-progress/indonesia/yogyakarta-city.

CDC. Dengue Vaccine Information Statement (VIS). Atlanta: Government of the United States of America, Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 17 December 2021. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/dengue.html.

WHO. Dengue vaccine safety update. [Webpage.] Geneva: WHO; 19 January 2018. Available from: https://www.who.int/groups/global-advisory-committee-on-vaccine-safety/topics/dengue-vaccines/safety-update.

Takeda. Takeda’s dengue vaccine recommended by World Health Organization advisory group for introduction in high dengue burden and transmission areas in children ages six to 16 years. [Internet.] Tokyo: Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; 3 October 2023. Available from: https://www.takeda.com/newsroom/newsreleases/2023/Takeda-Dengue-Vaccine-Recommended-by-World-Health-Organization-Advisory-Group-for-Introduction-in-High-Dengue-Burden-and-Transmission-Areas-in-Children-Ages-Six-to-16-Years/.

Downloads

Published

10/04/24

How to Cite

Machado, Filipe de Neri, Anthony DK Draper, Frederico Bosco Alves dos Santos, Marcelo Amaral Mali, Ari J Pereira Tilman, Endang Soares da Silva, Noel Gama Soares, et al. 2024. “A Brief Description of the Epidemiology of Dengue in Dili, Timor-Leste, 2018–2022”. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 48 (April). https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2024.48.16.

Issue

Vol. 48 (2024)

Section

Surveillance summary

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Communicable Diseases Intelligence

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>