Air traffic hubs such as India and Thailand help seed dengue, according to a new study which linked spread of the mosquito-borne tropical disease to new areas to trends in air travel.
Dengue virus affects as estimated 390 million people around the globe each year, and can cause symptoms ranging from a mild fever and headache to severe low blood pressure.
In the new work, Huaiyu Tian and Bing Xu, both of Beijing Normal University, China, together with colleagues from the University of Oxford and elsewhere analysed the spread of dengue viruses in Asia from 1956 to 2015, Asian Scientist Magazine said.
Their findings have been published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
They used 2,202 genetic sequences of dengue viruses, collected in 20 countries or regions of Asia over the 59 years, to determine how different strains were related.
They also investigated trends in air travel, maritime mobility, migration, and socio-economics to determine what factors impact the spread of dengue.
The spread of three different dengue virus serotypes, DENV-1, -2, and -3, is associated with air traffic more-so than any other factors, the data revealed.
Air traffic hubs such as Thailand and India, the researchers found, help seed dengue epidemics, while China, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Singapore help diffuse the virus to other Asian countries.
"Future trends in global mobility could potentially accelerate the appearance and diffusion of DENV worldwide," the researchers say.
"Prevention and control of dengue epidemics requires a better understanding of its mode of geographic dissemination, especially for countries in the tropics."
Dengue virus has mostly caused disease in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, but a 2014 outbreak in Japan broke that pattern. Overall, the geographic area affected by dengue has been growing in recent years.
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