title: Geographical distribution and spatio-temporal patterns of dengue cases in Jeddah Governorate from 2006-2008.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dengue remains a major health problem in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A surveillance system was initiated to detect new cases in 2006. The study aims to examine these data for detection of space-time clustering and identify target areas for effective interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Through a cross-sectional design, we included all confirmed dengue cases among residents of Jeddah with a clearly written addresses (n = 2288). Cases were geo-coded at the district level, and then analyzed by ArcGIS for geographical distribution and by the space-time permutation model of SaTScan for detection of clusters of cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study showed a seasonal pattern of dengue infections mainly in the first half of the year. Males and younger age-groups were more likely to be affected (70.8 and 67.3%, respectively). Descriptive spatial analysis showed that the infection was concentrated in the south and central-north regions. Space-time permutation scan statistics demonstrated five spatio-temporal clusters of dengue cases with no variations by age-groups, gender and nationality-group. Our results showed clear geographical patterns of dengue in Jeddah.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our unique data with geographical coding enabled us to detect and target dengue clusters that support the use of geospatial information in infection control in Saudi Arabia and would allow for better targeting of interaction progress.
authors.affiliation: Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), Ministry of Health, Al Rawdah District, P.O Box 6344, Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia. abdullahgz@gmail.com
authors.forename: Abdullah G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Alzahrani
authors.forename: Mohammad A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Al Mazroa
authors.forename: Abdullah M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Alrabeah
authors.forename: Adel M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Ali H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Mokdad
authors.forename: Ziad A
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Memish
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D013029:Space-Time Clustering; D055815:Young Adult