A new study suggests cleaning up trash can help reduce dengue fever risks.
This discovery gives communities hope as global dengue cases have risen due to changing climate conditions.
As the Stanford Report shared, Stanford researchers worked with international colleagues to understand how dengue spreads in very young children.
They studied transmission patterns in children up to age 5 in the dengue hot spots of Indonesia and Fiji. After finding a significant link between dengue cases and trash accumulation, they published their findings in BMC Infectious Diseases.
Interestingly, the researchers discovered households with regular garbage removal had lower chances of children getting dengue. They believe trash is a risk factor for dengue because waste collecting in shallow water creates favorable breeding grounds for mosquitoes carrying the disease.
Dengue risks increase even more when the trash isn't collected and flooding occurs because of extreme weather events.
The report's lead author, Stanford assistant professor of medicine Joelle Rosser, said: "Trash disposal can have a real impact on dengue risk. This highlights an important area where we have an opportunity to intervene and improve the health of humans and their lived environment."
The researchers' assessment is critical because it helps communities take action and promote cleanliness to keep children healthy.
However, it goes beyond this realization and highlights the disturbing prevalence of dengue among young children in certain places. They found that by age 5, 71% of children in Fiji and 51% in Indonesia had contracted dengue.
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Absolutely 👍 These disease rates are disproportionate to the rest of the world, where dengue cases are just starting to pick up with our steadily warming climate. Public health interventions are essential to protect children from mosquito-borne illnesses while living in underserved urban areas.
Communities can reduce mosquito breeding grounds by prioritizing trash collection and taking preventative measures to make families more resilient to floods. Other ways communities are working to prevent dengue include spraying for mosquitoes in high-risk areas and promoting public awareness about early dengue symptoms.
As an individual, you can protect yourself by wearing Environmental Protection Agency-approved insect repellants and wearing long sleeves and pants outdoors during high-risk times. You can also eliminate trash and standing water around your home.
Rosser offered a sense of hope about how ordinary citizens can address dengue concerns and said, "There are a whole host of ways we can minimize the impacts of climate change on health and well-being — and reducing trash is one of them."
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