Spatiotemporal Patterns of Japanese Encephalitis in China, 2002â2010

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a mosquito-borne disease, which primarily occurs in rural and suburban areas of Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific region. JE still remains a significant public health problem in mainland China, with approximately 50% of global cases annually. Few studies have explored the spatiotemporal patterns of JE cases in China. Here we reported the results of Local Indicators of Spatial Association and spatial scan statistics of JE cases in mainland China at the county level during the four periods: 2002; 2003–2005; 2006; 2007–2010. The primary spatiotemporal cluster of JE was detected in Southwestern China between July and August, with the geographical range of JE transmission increasing over the past years. The results of LISA and spatial scan statistics were consistent which indicates that these methods are reliable and could have wider applications in the fields of disease surveillance and management in China, particularly in the surveillance and monitoring of other vector-borne diseases. These findings may assist in informing prevention and control strategies and increase the effectiveness of public health interventions against JE transmission.