Pandemic-associated mobility restrictions could cause increases in dengue virus transmission

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Sean M Cavany, University of Notre Dame; Guido España, University of Notre Dame; Gonzalo Vazquez Prokopec, Emory University; Thomas W Scott, University of California, Davis; Alex T Perkins, University of Notre Dame
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-08-09
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 Cavany et al
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009603
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 8
• Grant/Funding Information: All authors were supported by grant P01AI098670 (TWS, PI) from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease (https://www.niaid.nih.gov). GE and TAP were also supported by a RAPID grant from the National Science Foundation (DEB 2027718). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
• Keywords: mobility restrictions; virus transmission

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has induced unprecedented reductions in human mobility and social contacts throughout the world. Because dengue virus (DENV) transmission is strongly driven by human mobility, behavioral changes associated with the pandemic have been hypothesized to impact dengue incidence. By discouraging human contact, COVID-19 control measures have also disrupted dengue vector control interventions, the most effective of which require entry into homes. We sought to investigate how and why dengue incidence could differ under a lockdown scenario with a proportion of the population sheltered at home.