Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on Number of Dengue Fever Reported Cases in the 506 Surveillance System, Region 12

Abstract

This study was an analytic study to study the relationship between the COVID-19 outbreak and the proportion of dengue fever cases Reported under Surveillance 506. Using a t-test to test the mean of the sample (One-sample test for the mean) to compare the difference between before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. The period before the COVID-19 outbreak is 2017 - 2019 and the outbreak period is 2020 – 2022. Study the negative correlation of the reported proportion with the number of COVID-19 cases was studied using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. The results revealed that in Narathiwat Province and Region 12, the mean proportion of reported cases of dengue fever decreased statistically significantly (p-value < 0.05). Spearman rank correlation coefficient of the reported proportion of dengue fever cases and number of COVID-19 cases in the year 2022 of Satun Province (r = -0.615, t = -2.469, p-value = 0.016) and in the year 2021 of Region12 (r = -0.594, t = -2.337, p-value = 0.020) was a statistically significant negative correlation. Conclusions: The outbreak of COVID-19 in Region 12 began to affect the reporting of dengue fever under the Surveillance System in some provinces and affect the overall information of Region 12. In some provinces when there is a heavy COVID-19 outbreak, the increasing number of COVID-19 cases has resulted in a decrease in the proportion of reported cases of dengue fever. Therefore, the dengue surveillance system should be evaluated in every province as information for developing surveillance system in the future.