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Review
. 2022 Jan 7;11(1):74.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens11010074.

Arboviral Disease Outbreaks in the Pacific Islands Countries and Areas, 2014 to 2020: A Systematic Literature and Document Review

Rosie J Matthews  1 , Ishani Kaluthotage  2   3 , Tanya L Russell  2   3 , Tessa B Knox  4 , Paul F Horwood  5   6 , Adam T Craig  7
Affiliations
Review

Arboviral Disease Outbreaks in the Pacific Islands Countries and Areas, 2014 to 2020: A Systematic Literature and Document Review

Rosie J Matthews et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

Arthropod-borne diseases pose a significant public health threat, accounting for greater than 17% of infectious disease cases and 1 million deaths annually. Across Pacific Island countries and areas (PICs), outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika are increasing in frequency and scale. Data about arbovirus outbreaks are incomplete, with reports sporadic, delayed, and often based solely on syndromic surveillance. We undertook a systematic review of published and grey literature and contacted relevant regional authorities to collect information about arboviral activity affecting PICs between October 2014 and June 2020. Our literature search identified 1176 unique peer-reviewed articles that were reduced to 25 relevant publications when screened. Our grey literature search identified 873 sources. Collectively, these data reported 104 unique outbreaks, including 72 dengue outbreaks affecting 19 (out of 22) PICs, 14 chikungunya outbreaks affecting 11 PICs, and 18 Zika outbreaks affecting 14 PICs. Our review is the most complete account of arboviral outbreaks to affect PICs since comparable work was published in 2014. It highlights the continued elevated level of arboviral activity across the Pacific and inconsistencies in how information about outbreaks is reported and recorded. It demonstrates the importance of a One-Health approach and the role that improved communication and reporting between different governments and sectors play in understanding the emergence, circulation, and transboundary risks posed by arboviral diseases.

Keywords: Pacific islands; Zika; arboviral diseases; chikungunya; dengue; low- and middle-income countries; outbreaks; public health; surveillance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number and temporal distribution of arboviral outbreaks, by virus, reported in the Pacific Island countries and areas, October 2014–June 2020.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Timeline of reported dengue outbreaks (confirmed/suspected and unspecified cases) in Pacific island countries and areas, October 2014–June 2020.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sources of data reporting dengue, chikungunya and Zika outbreaks (confirmed/suspected and unspecified cases) in Pacific Island countries and areas, October 2014–June 2020. Note: In addition, one Zika outbreak was reported in WHO’s Disease Outbreak News [37]; this event was not reported on PacNet or ProMed but did feature in peer reviewed literature [38,39].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Timeline of reported chikungunya outbreaks (confirmed/suspected and unspecified cases) in the Pacific Island countries and areas, October2014–June 2020.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Timeline of reported Zika outbreaks (confirmed/suspected and unspecified cases) in the Pacific island countries and areas, October 2014–June 2020.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Systematic literature search diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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