JE is a common mosquito borne disease in the tropics and subtropics, where the growth and reproduction of mosquitoes are enhanced by local environmental factors [13, 31–33]. Herein, using GIS technology and regression analysis, we aimed to identify aggregated spatial or temporal distributions of JE cases in Guizhou Province, and to explore whether these aggregations are associated with environmental factors.
During 1994 and 2016, JE cases increased significantly in July and reached the peak in August. This seasonal characteristic did not change with vaccination campaigns.But the increased incidence of JE in July and August may also be related to summer vacation in school. The age group 3–5 years had the highest incidence of JE, indicating that young children may play in the fields in closer proximity with the animal reservoirs, they are more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes and infected with JE; they are younger and therefore less likely to be immunologically experienced to previous asymptomatic JE infections and therefore more susceptible to symptomatic disease after first infection. The age group 6–10 years had the second highest incidence, indicating that school children are likely to be outdoors and playing during the peak mosquito population period,thus exposing themselves to JE infection.suggesting that supplementary immunization activities should be considered for school-age children. In addition, the number of cases in the age group over 15 years in the period 2004–2016 was significantly decreased compared with the number during 1994–2003, which may be a result of immunization activities.
Vector-borne diseases are known to be affected by climatic factors, such as temperature and precipitation [34–36]. It has been reported that temperatures about 22 °C and relative humidity 70–74% favor JE transmission [37, 38]. The average temperature in the epidemic period of JE in Guizhou Province is about 22–25 °C, and the relative humidity is over 70%. The variation in temperature and relative humidity among counties of the province is relatively small, which may be the reason that temperature and precipitation were not statistically significant in the model.
GDP is an important indicator for measuring the economic status of a region [39], and our results showed that JE incidence is negatively associated with GDP. JE incidence was lower in areas with high GDP, which is consistent with previous reports [40]. In the past, the economic development of Guizhou Province was relatively poor, especially in the northwest, and the JE incidence was relatively high. With increased economic development, JE incidence has been gradually decreasing. This trend may be owing to the gradual growth in GDP, the corresponding increase in national investment in infrastructure and public health, and improvement in residents’ quality of life and health awareness, especially the increase in disease-prevention spending by non-wealthy residents. However, it should be noted that JE incidence is highest at the mid-level GDP. We suspected that residents in low-level GDP areas may travel to areas with mid-level GDP that have better medical services and more moderate medical costs, consequently driving up the risk of JE in mid-level GDP regions. Therefore, we suggest that greater attention is needed for disease prevention and control in areas with mid-level GDP.
It has been reported that the risk of JE is related to paddy fields and pig farming [22, 41, 42]. Guizhou is a major agricultural region. Crop production is the primary industry, and rice planting is common, but the distribution of agricultural landscapes varies across regions. The northwest part of the province has high elevation and dryland, drought-resistant crops such as corn and potatoes are widely cultivated there. There are many paddy fields in the south and east, where rice is widely cultivated. Agricultural land area was found to be positively correlated with JE occurrence, which could be because local farmers usually live near farmland and raise pigs and cattle near their home [43]. For example, the Buyi and Miao people, who set up dwellings near the mountains and water bodies, build two-layer tower structures in which household members live in the upper levels and the lower level serves as a fence for livestock, farm equipment storage, and household debris. Some other minority groups mix human and livestock waste, which probably increases the frequency of mosquito bites, and thus, JE exposure. High vegetation coverage is generally thought to increase JE incidence; however, our results suggest a negative relationship between vegetation area and JE incidence. We speculate that the smaller population residing in mountainous areas with high vegetation coverage may reduce the opportunity for mosquito–human contact, and thus, lower the JE reporting and observation rates in Guizhou Province.
Human activities have an impact on the lifecycle of mosquito. Our results showed a negative correlation between urban land area and JE incidence. Agricultural land area accounts for about 85% of the total land area in Guizhou [37]. There are many ethnic minorities living in the countryside, and some of their unique traditional behaviors may increase the risk of disease. With urban and rural integration in Guizhou Province, the size of urban areas has been expanding, which has reduced the range of mosquitos and the risk of natural infection with JEV. Today, rural residents’ living areas are more frequently separated from their livestock, and with implementation of a series of policies ensuring better sanitation and land restoration, successful prevention and control of JE in Guizhou Province has been partly achieved. Nevertheless, greater attention must be focused on mid-level urbanized areas, which have the highest JE incidence. These areas are usually in various stages of rapid development and population mobility. Environmental changes are great and may be accompanied by changes in mosquito migration and reproduction. We suggest that strengthening the prevention and control of JE is needed in Guizhou, particularly in mid-level urbanized areas. Such well-planned urbanization can improve people's living environment, increase health awareness, and improve the quality of planned immunization, effectively reducing the JE risk.
This study has several limitations. First, land use in Guizhou Province has undergone several changes during the 13-year study period, so the available land-use data should be updated. Second, climatic data by county was estimated using the WorldClim database, which was created via a spatial interpolation method.
In conclusion, economic level, land use, and urbanization are significantly related to JE risk. These findings may be helpful to identify areas requiring strengthened prevention and control programs. Our work provides an important reference for continued efforts at reducing JE incidence in Guizhou Province.