2001～2003年台灣登革熱／登革出血熱的流行病學探討

Objective: The largest epidemic of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) caused by dengue virus serotype 2 (DEN-2) since 1942 occurred in 2002. The purpose of this study is to determinate the important epidemiological characteristics of DHF in 2002~2003. Methods: Epidemiological and serological data were collected by field investigations and defined by scholars. Results: (1) the percentage of DHF cases in 2002 significantly increased from 27th~35th week [5.74% (99/1626)] to the 36th~44th week [7.77% (199/2361)] and 45th~2003 1st week [10.18% (103/909)] (p＜0.000l); (2) DHF cases occurred more frequently in patients with underlying diseases; and (3) DHF had significant associations with the patient's self-described past dengue history (p=0.005) but smaller-scale serological data did not (p=0.08). Conclusions: The rapid infection of large human populations might increase the dimension of virus variability and allow the virus to have a higher epidemic potential. Future studies on pathogenesis of DHF are needed to emphasize the interactions between virus evolution and alternating hosts through transmission chains.