Abstract
Background: Climate change plays a significant role in increasing dengue fever incidence by altering the habitat suitability for Aedes mosquitoes, the primary vectors. The incidence rate of dengue fever in Indonesia is increasing at an alarming rate, and strengthening the surveillance and control of the disease is important to prevent and reduce the risk of infection. This research aims to map and produce vulnerability areas that are suitable for dengue fever vectors by identifying their habitat using environmental and socio‑economic variables.
Method: We use six variables as proxy for environmental and socio‑economic drivers of dengue fever, namely 1) distance to pond, 2) distance to drain, 3) building density, 4) distance to health facilities, 5) distance to social activity center, and 6) elevation to represent local temperature and variables are used within the landscape level of research area. This research was conducted in six different regions within two provinces in Indonesia, supported by the incidence rate in each region. Spatial multi‑criteria evaluation (SMCE) was used to map vulnerability areas of dengue fever vector habitats and assign weights and scores to variables according to expert judgements and existing literature.
Results: Our findings show that high‑risk areas are located near major water bodies and drainage, lack supporting medical facilities, and are prone to changing climatic conditions. Given the importance of the administrative unit in conducting intervention policies, the calculated total areas of high‑vulnerable zones were given in the research and showed a variation of patterns according to their respective location.
Conclusion: Our research suggests that vulnerability areas mapping of dengue fever is needed to control the disease in Indonesia. Thus, this research serves as proof of concept for national‑level mapping.