title: São Paulo urban heat islands have a higher incidence of dengue than other urban areas.
abstract: Urban heat islands are characterized by high land surface temperature, low humidity, and poor vegetation, and considered to favor the transmission of the mosquito-borne dengue fever that is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. We analyzed the recorded dengue incidence in Sao Paulo city, Brazil, in 2010-2011, in terms of multiple environmental and socioeconomic variables. Geographical information systems, thermal remote sensing images, and census data were used to classify city areas according to land surface temperature, vegetation cover, population density, socioeconomic status, and housing standards. Of the 7415 dengue cases, a majority (93.1%) mapped to areas with land surface temperature >28°C. The dengue incidence rate (cases per 100,000 inhabitants) was low (3.2 cases) in high vegetation cover areas, but high (72.3 cases) in low vegetation cover areas where the land surface temperature was 29±2°C. Interestingly, a multiple cluster analysis phenogram showed more dengue cases clustered in areas of land surface temperature >32°C, than in areas characterized as low socioeconomic zones, high population density areas, or slum-like areas. In laboratory experiments, A. aegypti mosquito larval development, blood feeding, and oviposition associated positively with temperatures of 28-32°C, indicating these temperatures to be favorable for dengue transmission. Thus, among all the variables studied, dengue incidence was most affected by the temperature.
authors.affiliation: Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia & Inovação, Secretaria de Políticas e Programas de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, Brasília, DF, Brazil. Electronic address: araujorv@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ricardo Vieira
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Araujo
authors.affiliation: Gerência de Vigilância de Saúde Ambiental Coordenação de Vigilância em Saúde SMS/PMSP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcos Roberto
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Albertini
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular, INCT-EM, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: André Luis
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Costa-da-Silva
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Instituto Butantan, Laboratório Parasitologia, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lincoln
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Suesdek
authors.affiliation: Gerência de Vigilância de Saúde Ambiental Coordenação de Vigilância em Saúde SMS/PMSP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Nathália Cristina Soares
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Franceschi
authors.affiliation: Gerência de Vigilância de Saúde Ambiental Coordenação de Vigilância em Saúde SMS/PMSP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Nancy Marçal
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Bastos
authors.affiliation: Gerência de Vigilância de Saúde Ambiental Coordenação de Vigilância em Saúde SMS/PMSP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gizelda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.affiliation: Gerência de Vigilância de Saúde Ambiental Coordenação de Vigilância em Saúde SMS/PMSP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vivian Ailt
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Gerência de Vigilância de Saúde Ambiental Coordenação de Vigilância em Saúde SMS/PMSP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bronislawa Ciotek
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular, INCT-EM, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Margareth Lara
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Capurro
authors.affiliation: Gerência de Vigilância de Saúde Ambiental Coordenação de Vigilância em Saúde SMS/PMSP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vera Lúcia Anacleto Cardoso
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Allegro
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002947:Cities / Q000453:epidemiology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D010058:Oviposition / Q000502:physiology; D058998:Remote Sensing Technology; D012621:Seasons; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: Aedes aegypti; Dengue; Land surface temperature; Urban heat islands; Vegetation cover