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Simulation of the probable vector density that caused the Nagasaki dengue outbreak vectored by Aedes albopictus in 1942

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 March 2013

M. OKI*
Affiliation:
Department of International Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, The Global Center of Excellence, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
T. YAMAMOTO
Affiliation:
Department of International Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, The Global Center of Excellence, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
*
*Author for correspondence: Dr M. Oki, Department of International Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan (Email: mrs_southern_wind@yahoo.co.jp)
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Summary

Japan experienced dengue outbreaks vectored by Aedes albopictus during the Second World War. The probable vector density that caused the largest dengue outbreak in Nagasaki in 1942 was estimated using a mathematical simulation model. The estimated vector density was 15·0–558·0 per person when various assumptions of uncertain parameters were applied, such as proportion of symptomatic cases, vector mortality, and human biting rate of A. albopictus. When the most favourable disease spread conditions, such as a combination of the exclusive human biting rate and the longest vector survival were assumed, the vector density was 15–25 mosquitoes per person. Unusually high vector density due to wartime practices, and the traditional Japanese lifestyle were presumably responsible for the earlier dengue outbreak. If an outbreak occurs in present-day Japan, it is unlikely to spread as much as the previous one, as environmental conditions and human behaviour have changed in a protective manner.

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Type
Original Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - SA
The online version of this article is published within an Open Access environment subject to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence . The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use.
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013
Figure 0

Table 1. Equations for the changes in each class of human and vector populations

Figure 1

Table 2. Parameters and parameter values

Figure 2

Fig. 1. Seasonal changes in mosquito population. Left axis: box plot of monthly numbers of captured female A. albopictus during 1974–1976 in Nagasaki [26]. Right axis: seasonal changes in mosquito density [the number of female mosquitoes per person (MPP)] when the peak MPP = 4. dv is the vector mortality rate. Note that the original data from Mori & Wada [26] consisted of the number of female mosquitoes captured during 30 and 15 min in 1974 and 1975–1976, respectively. The data from 1974 was therefore divided by two for representation in this figure.

Figure 3

Fig. 2. Estimated length of the gonotrophic cycle using the curve-fitting method.

Figure 4

Table 3. Probable number of Aedes albopictus per person during the Nagasaki dengue outbreak in 1942

Figure 5

Fig. 3. Simulation results showing monthly mean temperature in Nagasaki in 1942 and the best fit simulations when the longest vector survival (dv = 0·1), and the exclusive human biting rate (q = 0·9) are assumed. By using the least square method, the number of mosquitoes per person (MPP) was estimated to be 15·0, 16·9, and 25·1, while the proportion of symptomatic cases was assumed to be 0·7, 0·4, and 0·1, respectively.

Figure 6

Table 4. Estimated R0 during the Nagasaki dengue outbreak in 1942