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© 2016 Public Library of Science. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited: Li X, Cui S, Gao X, Wang H, Song M, Li M, et al. (2016) The Spatio-temporal Distribution of Japanese Encephalitis Cases in Different Age Groups in Mainland China, 2004 - 2014. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 10(4): e0004611. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0004611

Abstract

Background

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is very prevalent in China, but the incidence of JE among children has been greatly reduced by extensive promotion of vaccinations. The incidence of JE among adults, however, has increased in some parts of China.

Methods/Principal Findings

Data on JE in mainland China, in terms of incidence, gender, and age, were collected between 2004 and 2014. We conducted spatial and temporal analyses on data from different age groups. Generally, children aged 0-15 years still represent the major population of JE cases in China, despite the gradual decrease in incidence over years. However, the incidence of JE among adults in several provinces is notably higher than the national average, especially during the epidemic waves in 2006, 2009, and 2013. The JE cases in the 0-15-year-old group are distributed mainly in the area south of the Yangtze River, with peak incidence occurring from July to September. In the adult group, especially for those over 40 years old, the JE cases are concentrated mainly in the area north of the Yangtze River. JE incidence in the adult group in September and October is significantly greater compared to the other groups. Further analysis using Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) reveals that the distribution of adult JE cases in the six provinces north of the Yangtze River, between north 30-35° latitude and east 110-130° longitude, is a hotspot for adult JE cases.

Conclusions/Significance

The rate of JE case increase for adults is much greater than for children and has become a public health issue. Therefore, studies on the necessity and feasibility of vaccinating adults who live in JE-endemic areas, but have never been vaccinated for JE, should become a new focus of JE prevention in the future.

Details

Title
The Spatio-temporal Distribution of Japanese Encephalitis Cases in Different Age Groups in Mainland China, 2004 - 2014
Author
Li, Xiaolong; Cui, Shiheng; Gao, Xiaoyan; Wang, Huanyu; Song, Miao; Li, Minghua; Fu, Shihong; Lv, Zhi; He, Ying; Lei, Wenwen; Wang, Bin; Lu, Xiaoqing; Liang, Guodong
Section
Research Article
Publication year
2016
Publication date
Apr 2016
Publisher
Public Library of Science
ISSN
19352727
e-ISSN
19352735
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1789545233
Copyright
© 2016 Public Library of Science. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited: Li X, Cui S, Gao X, Wang H, Song M, Li M, et al. (2016) The Spatio-temporal Distribution of Japanese Encephalitis Cases in Different Age Groups in Mainland China, 2004 - 2014. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 10(4): e0004611. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0004611