Spatio-temporal dynamics of hand, foot and mouth disease in Malaysia, 2009-2019.

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is endemic in Asia-Pacific. There is geographic variability in the timing of HFMD outbreaks throughout the year across the region, and seasonality becomes less clear towards tropical regions. We used syndromic HFMD case surveillance data from 2009 to 2019 (N = 354...

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Main Authors: Victoria M Cox, Rohani Jahis, Rehan Shuhada Abu Bakar, Noriah Mohd Yusof, Kiroshika Pillay Veel Pilay, Yu Kie Chem, S Selvanesan, Norita Shamsudin, Wes Hinsley, Isobel M Blake, Nor Zahrin Hasran, Norhayati Rusli, I-Ching Sam, Yoke Fun Chan, Margarita Pons-Salort
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-06-01
Series:PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013174
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author Victoria M Cox
Rohani Jahis
Rehan Shuhada Abu Bakar
Noriah Mohd Yusof
Kiroshika Pillay Veel Pilay
Yu Kie Chem
S Selvanesan
Norita Shamsudin
Wes Hinsley
Isobel M Blake
Nor Zahrin Hasran
Norhayati Rusli
I-Ching Sam
Yoke Fun Chan
Margarita Pons-Salort
author_facet Victoria M Cox
Rohani Jahis
Rehan Shuhada Abu Bakar
Noriah Mohd Yusof
Kiroshika Pillay Veel Pilay
Yu Kie Chem
S Selvanesan
Norita Shamsudin
Wes Hinsley
Isobel M Blake
Nor Zahrin Hasran
Norhayati Rusli
I-Ching Sam
Yoke Fun Chan
Margarita Pons-Salort
author_sort Victoria M Cox
collection DOAJ
description Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is endemic in Asia-Pacific. There is geographic variability in the timing of HFMD outbreaks throughout the year across the region, and seasonality becomes less clear towards tropical regions. We used syndromic HFMD case surveillance data from 2009 to 2019 (N = 354,769 cases) to characterise the spatio-temporal dynamics of HFMD in Malaysia, which has a tropical climate, and identify factors associated with transmission. Despite the absence of regular annual seasonal patterns of incidence, HFMD epidemics were highly synchronised across districts within Peninsular and East Malaysia, but less so between the two regions. Median estimates of the state-level daily effective reproduction number (Rt) ranged from 0.47 to 1.54. Meteorological factors were found to have a small effect on HFMD transmission compared to the depletion of susceptibles (as a proxy for population immunity) and school closures, likely due to the low seasonal weather variability across the year. Studies using wider spatial scales covering a diversity of climate regions are needed to identify meteorological factors determining the timing of HFMD epidemics across Asia-Pacific countries.
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language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
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spelling doaj-art-e5a7a89fabb440d8b3b2ea16140404b22025-08-20T03:27:07ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352025-06-01196e001317410.1371/journal.pntd.0013174Spatio-temporal dynamics of hand, foot and mouth disease in Malaysia, 2009-2019.Victoria M CoxRohani JahisRehan Shuhada Abu BakarNoriah Mohd YusofKiroshika Pillay Veel PilayYu Kie ChemS SelvanesanNorita ShamsudinWes HinsleyIsobel M BlakeNor Zahrin HasranNorhayati RusliI-Ching SamYoke Fun ChanMargarita Pons-SalortHand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is endemic in Asia-Pacific. There is geographic variability in the timing of HFMD outbreaks throughout the year across the region, and seasonality becomes less clear towards tropical regions. We used syndromic HFMD case surveillance data from 2009 to 2019 (N = 354,769 cases) to characterise the spatio-temporal dynamics of HFMD in Malaysia, which has a tropical climate, and identify factors associated with transmission. Despite the absence of regular annual seasonal patterns of incidence, HFMD epidemics were highly synchronised across districts within Peninsular and East Malaysia, but less so between the two regions. Median estimates of the state-level daily effective reproduction number (Rt) ranged from 0.47 to 1.54. Meteorological factors were found to have a small effect on HFMD transmission compared to the depletion of susceptibles (as a proxy for population immunity) and school closures, likely due to the low seasonal weather variability across the year. Studies using wider spatial scales covering a diversity of climate regions are needed to identify meteorological factors determining the timing of HFMD epidemics across Asia-Pacific countries.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013174
spellingShingle Victoria M Cox
Rohani Jahis
Rehan Shuhada Abu Bakar
Noriah Mohd Yusof
Kiroshika Pillay Veel Pilay
Yu Kie Chem
S Selvanesan
Norita Shamsudin
Wes Hinsley
Isobel M Blake
Nor Zahrin Hasran
Norhayati Rusli
I-Ching Sam
Yoke Fun Chan
Margarita Pons-Salort
Spatio-temporal dynamics of hand, foot and mouth disease in Malaysia, 2009-2019.
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
title Spatio-temporal dynamics of hand, foot and mouth disease in Malaysia, 2009-2019.
title_full Spatio-temporal dynamics of hand, foot and mouth disease in Malaysia, 2009-2019.
title_fullStr Spatio-temporal dynamics of hand, foot and mouth disease in Malaysia, 2009-2019.
title_full_unstemmed Spatio-temporal dynamics of hand, foot and mouth disease in Malaysia, 2009-2019.
title_short Spatio-temporal dynamics of hand, foot and mouth disease in Malaysia, 2009-2019.
title_sort spatio temporal dynamics of hand foot and mouth disease in malaysia 2009 2019
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013174
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