Geographical detection of Tick-borne Encephalitis risks in Hulunbuir, China

Tick-borne Encephalitis (TBE) is a vital natural focus disease. It mainly exists in the middle-high latitudes of Eurasian continent. TBE has been recognized as a severe public health problem in northeastern China. The spatial heterogeneity and variation of TBE incidence are influenced greatly by the geographical and ecological living conditions of its main vectors and hosts. This paper used GeoDetector with a 10 km grid sets to assess the impact of varieties of geographical factors for the distribution of TBE incidence in Hulunbuir, China. The TBE incidence is based on the average value of yearly incidence from 2006 to 2013. The geographical factors involve land cover, soil type, topography, climatic and vegetation conditions, etc. The results indicate that soil type and land cover are the dominant factors to the general distribution of TBE incidence. Yearly change precipitation is also the key factor for the local distribution of TBE risk. What´s more, the TBE incidence is greatly influenced by the interaction of these factors. This study is conducive to recognize the relationship between the geographic factors and the distribution of TBE in the northeastern China. It can be a good reference for the further prediction of the potential high-risk areas based on the changes of physical geographic environment. Besides, the findings are expected to raise the awareness of TBE precaution for local people.