Stevens A Michal, Carter Karen, Stevenson Kuartei, Schneeweiss Ronald
University of Washington School of Medicine, USA.
Pac Health Dialog. 2011 Mar;17(1):119-28.
Dengue fever has been a longstanding problem in Palau, and Public Health programs were implemented in 2001 to conduct surveillance for cases of the disease. Epidemiologic analysis of dengue fever cases in Palau is needed to describe disease occurrence in Palau and to help target prevention and control efforts.
Case data were collected from the Palau Ministry of Health's Reportable Disease Surveillance System. Descriptive epidemiology was performed on the case data, and spatial analysis was used to assess the distribution of dengue fever cases in Palau.
Between January of 2001 and June of 2006, 676 cases of dengue fever occurred in Palau, and sporadic outbreaks without seasonality were noted. Characteristics of the case population included being male (57.8%), being under the age of 20 (mean age = 23.4 years), being Palauan (88.2%), having an indoor occupation (91.7%), and having no history of travel outside of Palau during the estimated exposure period (96.3%). Most cases also lived in urban areas of Palau (92.0%), and the disease rate was significantly higher in urban areas compared to rural areas (3941.8 versus 1175.7 cases per 100,000, respectively for the 5.4-year study period; p = 0.0007).
This study supports the idea that dengue fever is still endemic in Palau. Control and prevention measures should be continued, and targeted toward urban areas and populations at increased risk of this disease.
登革热在帕劳一直是个长期存在的问题，2001年实施了公共卫生项目以对该病病例进行监测。需要对帕劳的登革热病例进行流行病学分析，以描述帕劳的疾病发生情况，并有助于确定预防和控制工作的重点。
病例数据收集自帕劳卫生部的法定疾病监测系统。对病例数据进行描述性流行病学分析，并采用空间分析方法评估帕劳登革热病例的分布情况。
2001年1月至2006年6月期间，帕劳共发生676例登革热病例，发现有散发性疫情且无季节性。病例人群的特征包括男性（57.8%）、年龄在20岁以下（平均年龄=23.4岁）、帕劳人（88.2%）、从事室内工作（91.7%）以及在估计的暴露期内无帕劳境外旅行史（96.3%）。大多数病例也居住在帕劳的城市地区（92.0%），在5.4年的研究期内，城市地区的发病率明显高于农村地区（分别为每10万人3941.8例和1175.7例；p=0.0007）。
本研究支持登革热在帕劳仍为地方病这一观点。应继续采取控制和预防措施，并针对城市地区以及该疾病风险增加的人群。
