Ascertainment of Community Exposure Sites to Ross River Virus During the 2020 Outbreak in Brisbane, Australia.

Abstract

This study investigated potential Ross River virus (RRV) exposure sites in Greater Brisbane during the Queensland coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown (January-July 2020). Using RRV notifications, cluster identification techniques, and mobile phone data for movement network analysis, the study examined 993 RRV cases and 9 million movement trajectories from residential RRV cluster areas (hot spots). The findings revealed that population movement was a key risk factor to RRV incidence within hot spots, whereby highly interconnected areas had more RRV cases during lockdown. While environmental conditions within RRV hot spots were less significant compared with their connectivity, areas with higher vegetation density had fewer RRV cases. The study also noted that individuals from RRV hot spots spent less time in green areas before lockdown than during and after lockdown. The results suggest that population movement significantly influenced the 2020 RRV outbreak. These insights can help adapt current vector control and surveillance protocols to target areas identified in this study.