title: Assessing the methods needed for improved dengue mapping: a SWOT analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral infection, is a growing threat to human health in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. There is a demand from public officials for maps that capture the current distribution of dengue and maps that analyze risk factors to predict the future burden of disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  To identify relevant articles, we searched Google Scholar, PubMed, BioMed Central, and WHOLIS (World Health Organization Library Database) for published articles with a specific set of dengue criteria between January 2002 and July 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After evaluating the currently available dengue models, we identified four key barriers to the creation of high-quality dengue maps: (1) data limitations related to the expense of diagnosing and reporting dengue cases in places where health information systems are underdeveloped; (2) issues related to the use of socioeconomic proxies in places with limited dengue incidence data; (3) mosquito ranges which may be changing as a result of climate changes; and (4) the challenges of mapping dengue events at a variety of scales.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An ideal dengue map will present endemic and epidemic dengue information from both rural and urban areas. Overcoming the current barriers requires expanded collaboration and data sharing by geographers, epidemiologists, and entomologists. Enhanced mapping techniques would allow for improved visualizations of dengue rates and risks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and GeoInformation Science, George Mason University, USA.
authors.forename: David Frost
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Attaway
authors.affiliation: Department of Global and Community Health, George Mason University, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and GeoInformation Science, George Mason University, USA.
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falconer
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and GeoInformation Science, George Mason University, USA.
authors.forename: Germana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Manca
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and GeoInformation Science, George Mason University, USA ; Department of Geography and Director, GIS Center of Excellence, George Mason University, USA ; Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Canada.
authors.forename: Nigel M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Waters
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes; D000818:Animals; D057231:Climate Change; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003710:Demography; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004777:Environment; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D062305:Geographic Mapping; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014944:World Health Organization
keywords: climate change; dengue; developing countries; geographic information systems; medical geography