Household risk factors associated with dengue-like illness, Republic of Palau, 2000-2001.

The authors investigated the association between household hygiene status and the occurrence of dengue-like illness (DLI) during the 2000-2001 outbreak in the Republic of Palau. Hygiene status was compared between 55 households with DLI patients and 55 households without DLI patients during the period of the outbreak. Shower facilities with hygienic problems and potential breeding sites of mosquitoes were more frequently found in the lots of households with DLI patients than in those without (OR = 3.1, 95% CI = 1.3-7.2; OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.02-9.4, respectively). The total number of hygienic problems was higher for households with DLI patients than for those without (t-test, p = 0.016). Results indicated that the overall household hygiene status, and particularly the existence of inappropriate shower facilities and mosquito breeding sites, was the predictor of the prevalence of DLI during the outbreak; this status will be considered in the prevention of future outbreaks of DLI in Palau and in other tropical island nations as well.