Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41860997›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2026

A time-varying geospatial model of habitat suitability for Japanese encephalitis virus vectors and vertebrate hosts in Australia.

David H Duncan, Lucinda E Harrison, Abbey Potter, Craig Brockway, Kimberly L Miller, Stephen L Doggett, Rebecca Feldman, Peter J Neville, Andrew F van den Hurk, Cassie C Jansen and 6 more

Abstract read
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Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

David H DuncanInfectious Disease Ecology and Modelling, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4411-8214
Lucinda E HarrisonSchool of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Abbey PotterEnvironmental Health Directorate, Western Australia Department of Health, East Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Craig BrockwayEnvironmental Health Directorate, Western Australia Department of Health, East Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Kimberly L MillerEnvironmental Health Directorate, Western Australia Department of Health, East Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Stephen L DoggettDepartment of Medical Entomology, NSW Health Pathology, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia.
Rebecca FeldmanCommunity and Public Health Division, Department of Health, Melbourne, Victoria.
Peter J NevilleCommunity and Public Health Division, Department of Health, Melbourne, Victoria.
Andrew F van den HurkPublic Health Virology, Public and Environmental Health Reference Laboratories, Queensland Health, Coopers Plains, Queensland, Australia.
Cassie C JansenHealth Protection and Regulation Branch, Queensland Health, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Michaela HobbyHealth Protection and Regulation, Department for Health and Wellbeing, SA Health, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Vicki BurnsHealth Protection and Regulation, Department for Health and Wellbeing, SA Health, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Andrew VickersHealth Protection and Regulation, Department for Health and Wellbeing, SA Health, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Nina KuruczMedical Entomology - Centre for Disease Control, Public Health Division, NT Health, Tiwi, Northern Territory, Australia.
Nick GoldingInfectious Disease Ecology and Modelling, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia.
Freya M ShearerMelbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In the austral summer of 2021-2022, Australia experienced an unprecedented Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) outbreak, with detections over 3000 km south of previous occurrences. Given the limited knowledge of JEV transmission ecology in Australia, we developed geospatial models of transmission risk to support the public health response. We created time-varying habitat suitability models for suspected mosquito vectors and ardeid hosts using month-scaled occurrence and covariate data from 2000-2023. Ardeid host presence-absence data were obtained from eBird and BirdLife Australia, with habitat suitability estimated using gradient-boosted regression tree models. A national dataset of Culex occurrences was compiled from mosquito surveillance records, literature, and biodiversity databases. Penalised logistic regression was used to model mosquito vector habitat suitability. Vector and host habitat predictions for the outbreak peak in February 2022 were rescaled using JEV infection locations in the public domain to create a combined habitat suitability surface. Our models aligned with detected JEV infections at the continental scale, highlighting transmission suitability across tropical northern Australia and major inland drainage basins in the East. Unlike existing models, we predicted lower suitability along the eastern seaboard, suggesting a delimiting effect of the Great Dividing Range. Our approach provides the most comprehensive and temporally dynamic models for JEV hosts and vectors in Australia, with a significantly larger vector dataset than previous studies. The novel method of rescaling host and vector outputs into a combined surface offers new insights into JEV transmission risk. Favourable conditions were repeated in 2023 with few detected infections, emphasising that JEV ecology in Australia remains poorly understood. This study's results can support improvements in arbovirus surveillance systems, promoting earlier detection of circulating viruses. Increased focus on vector ecology and distributions is crucial for better understanding JEV transmission in Australia.

Indexed as

CulexEcosystemEncephalitis, JapaneseEncephalitis Virus, JapaneseMosquito VectorsVertebratesAnimalsAustraliaDisease OutbreaksHumans

Identifiers

PMID41860997
PMCPMC13035343

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.