The Effect of Vaccination Coverage and Climate on Japanese Encephalitis in Sarawak, Malaysia
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002334
- PMID
- 23951373
- PMCID
- PMC3738455
- OpenAlex
- W1975275714
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The study offers an improved estimate of vaccination impact on JE by accounting for climatic drivers, suggesting that prior evaluations ignoring climate may overestimate vaccine benefit.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
To quantify the effect of JE vaccination on confirmed cases in Sarawak, Malaysia, after controlling for inter-annual climate variability.
Study design
A 10-year (1997–2006) monthly time-series analysis using Poisson regression of serologically confirmed JE cases, incorporating vaccination period, meteorological predictors, seasonality, and long-term trend.
Population and setting
Serologically confirmed JE cases reported to Sibu Hospital, Sarawak, Malaysia, between 1997 and 2006.
Main findings
Over the surveillance period, 133 confirmed JE cases were identified. An unadjusted analysis estimated a 61% reduction in JE risk after vaccination introduction, while adjusting for climate variability yielded an approximately 45% reduction. Rainfall (1-month lag), minimum temperature (6-month lag), and the Southern Oscillation Index (6-month lag) were positively associated with JE case counts.
Public-health relevance
The study offers an improved estimate of vaccination impact on JE by accounting for climatic drivers, suggesting that prior evaluations ignoring climate may overestimate vaccine benefit.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract/metadata and requires the original paper for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
The paper addresses the discoverability of JE vaccination impact by demonstrating how climate covariates can confound estimates of vaccine effectiveness in observational surveillance data. No connection to a live surveillance signal is made.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 13 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.