Analyzing data from Thailand's 72 provinces, Derek Cummings and colleagues find that decreases in birth and death rates can explain the shift in age distribution of dengue hemorrhagic fever.
An increase in the average age of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) cases has been reported in Thailand. The cause of this increase is not known. Possible explanations include a reduction in transmission due to declining mosquito populations, declining contact between human and mosquito, and changes in reporting. We propose that a demographic shift toward lower birth and death rates has reduced dengue transmission and lengthened the interval between large epidemics.
Using data from each of the 72 provinces of Thailand, we looked for associations between force of infection (a measure of hazard, defined as the rate per capita at which susceptible individuals become infected) and demographic and climactic variables. We estimated the force of infection from the age distribution of cases from 1985 to 2005. We find that the force of infection has declined by 2% each year since a peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Contrary to recent findings suggesting that the incidence of DHF has increased in Thailand, we find a small but statistically significant decline in DHF incidence since 1985 in a majority of provinces. The strongest predictor of the change in force of infection and the mean force of infection is the median age of the population. Using mathematical simulations of dengue transmission we show that a reduced birth rate and a shift in the population's age structure can explain the shift in the age distribution of cases, reduction of the force of infection, and increase in the periodicity of multiannual oscillations of DHF incidence in the absence of other changes.
Lower birth and death rates decrease the flow of susceptible individuals into the population and increase the longevity of immune individuals. The increase in the proportion of the population that is immune increases the likelihood that an infectious mosquito will feed on an immune individual, reducing the force of infection. Though the force of infection has decreased by half, we find that the critical vaccination fraction has not changed significantly, declining from an average of 85% to 80%. Clinical guidelines should consider the impact of continued increases in the age of dengue cases in Thailand. Countries in the region lagging behind Thailand in the demographic transition may experience the same increase as their population ages. The impact of demographic changes on the force of infection has been hypothesized for other diseases, but, to our knowledge, this is the first observation of this phenomenon.
Every year, dengue infects 50–100 million people living in tropical and subtropical areas. The four closely related viruses that cause dengue are transmitted to people through the bites of female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which acquire dengue virus by feeding on the blood of an infected person. Although some people who become infected with dengue virus have no symptoms, many develop dengue fever, a severe, flu-like illness that lasts for a few days. Other people—more than half a million a year—develop dengue hemorrhagic fever, which causes bleeding from the gums and nose and bruising, or dengue shock syndrome in which circulatory failure also occurs. Both these potentially fatal conditions are associated with sequential infections with dengue virus—nonfatal infection with dengue virus of one type provides lifelong immunity against that type but only temporary protection against infection with dengue viruses of other types. There is no vaccine to prevent dengue and no specific treatment for the disease. However, standard medical care—in particular, replacement of lost fluids—can prevent most deaths from dengue.
Historically, dengue has mainly affected young children but, recently, its age distribution has shifted towards older age groups in several Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand. In addition, the interval between large increases in incidence (epidemics) of dengue hemorrhagic fever has lengthened. It is important to know why these changes are happening because they could affect how dengue infections are dealt with in these countries. One idea is that an ongoing shift towards lower birth and death rates (the demographic transition; this occurs as countries move from a pre-industrial to an industrial economy) is reducing dengue transmission rates by reducing the “force of infection” (the rate at which susceptible individuals become infected). As birth and death rates decline, immune individuals account for more of the population so mosquitoes are more likely to bite an immune individual, which reduces the force of infection. Similarly, because susceptible individuals enter the population by being born, changing the birth rate alters the interval between epidemics. In this study, the researchers test whether the demographic transition might be responsible for the changing pattern of dengue infection in Thailand.
The researchers retrieved data on dengue infection, demographic data (the population's age structure and birth and death rates), socioeconomic data, and climatic data for Thailand from 1980 to 2005 from various sources. They then fitted the data on dengue cases to several mathematical models to estimate the force of infection for each year. This analysis suggested that the force of infection has declined by 2% every year since the early1980s. Next, the researchers used statistical methods to show that the strongest predictor of this decline is the increase in the median age of the population (a measure of the average age of the population). Finally, using mathematical simulations of dengue transmission, they showed that a reduced birth rate and a shift in the population's age structure are sufficient to explain the recent shift in the age distribution of dengue cases, the reduction of the force of infection, and the increased interval between epidemics of dengue hemorrhagic fever.
The findings of all modeling studies depend on how the mathematical models are built and the accuracy of the data fed into them. Nevertheless, these findings suggest that recent changes in birth and death rates in Thailand are sufficient to produce the observed changes in the age distribution of dengue and periodicity of dengue outbreaks. One implication of these findings is that other countries in Southeast Asia that follow Thailand in the demographic transition may experience similar shifts in the pattern of dengue infections as the age structure of their populations changes. This means that clinical guidelines for the management of dengue infections in Southeast Asia will need to be adjusted to allow for the increasing age of dengue cases. Finally, although the researchers' calculations show the force of infection has fallen substantially over the past two decades, they also show that when a dengue vaccine becomes available, it will still be necessary to vaccinate most of the population to halt dengue transmission.
Please access these Web sites via the online version of this summary at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000139
This study is further discussed in a PLoS Medicine Perspective by Cameron Simmons and Jeremy Farrar
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides detailed information about dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever (in English and Spanish)
The World Health Organization provides information about dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever around the world (in several languages) and detailed information about dengue in Southeast Asia
Links to additional information about dengue are provided by MedlinePlus (in English and Spanish)
Wikipedia has a page about the demographic transition (note that Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit; available in several languages)