Climatic variations and the incidence of dengue fever in Bandung, Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is a country endemic to dengue fever—and Bandung is one of the cities in Indonesia that is endemic to dengue fever. There have been efforts to control mosquitoes, one of which is by eradicating their nests, but this step has not optimally reduced the incidence of cases. The increase in cases is thought to have been caused by climatic variations. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between climatic variations (temperature, humidity, and rainfall) and the incidence of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). This study used a correlation design and was carried out in Bandung. This study used secondary data. The samples were taken from data on the number of DHD patients from 2016 to 2021 recorded at the Health Office of Bandung, as well as temperature, humidity, and rainfall data from the Central Bureau of Statistics of Bandung from 2016 to 2021. The correlation between variables was assessed using the person correlation test. Climatic variations that are significantly correlated with the incidence of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are minimum temperature (p=0.020, and r=-0.658), maximum temperature (p=0.006, and r=-0.739), minimum humidity (p=0.000, and r=0.825), and rainfall (p=0.037, and r=0.605). The increase in the incidence of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is caused by climatic variations (temperature, humidity, and rainfall). Therefore, it is recommended that mosquito control and DHF surveillance program should be strengthened during the season following the rainy (wet) season.