The minimum-maximum weather temperature difference effect on dengue incidence in sleman regency of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

Dengue is a viral disease, transmitted by Aedes aegypti, and is still a big problem in tropical areas, including Indonesia, where the temperatures are relatively warm and suitable for vector mosquito life. In the dry season, the day and night temperature differences are quite sharp and, at that time, the number of dengue cases is low. In this study, the difference between day and night temperature is referred to as daily temperature fluctuation and represented by the maximum and minimum temperature difference in each month. The research was conducted in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia, as an endemic area, and the data were collected from 4 endemic areas in Sleman; Gamping, Godean, Sleman, and Depok districts. The data collected were quantitative with serial data retrospective. Secondary data of monthly dengue incidence in the years 2008 - 2013 were obtained from the Regency Health Office and used as a dependent variable. Monthly minimum and maximum temperatures in the same periods were obtained from the Agency of Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics. The differences between the minimum and maximum temperatures were calculated, to be used as independent variable data, and represented the different day and night temperatures of the month. Data were analyzed by using linear regressions to determine the influence of fluctuating temperature on the incidence of dengue. Results show that fluctuating temperature affected dengue incidence in the districts of Godean (p = 0.000; R2 = 0.207) and Gamping (p = 0.006; R2 = 0.125), but did not affect it in Sleman (p = 0.164) or Depok (p = 0.075). The data suggests that fluctuating temperature affected dengue incidence with powers of 20.7 % in Godean and 12.5 % in Gamping.