Environmental Determinants of Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome in High-Risk Counties in China: A Time Series Analysis (2002–2012)

The transmission pattern of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is associated with environmental conditions, including meteorological factors and land-cover. In the present study, the association between HFRS and environmental factors (including maximum temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, and normalized difference vegetation index) were explored in two typical counties in Northeast and two counties in Northwest China with severe HFRS outbreaks by using seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model with exogenous variables (SARIMAX). The results showed that rainfall with 3- to 4-month lag was closely associated with HFRS in the two counties in Northeast China, whereas relative humidity with 1- or 5-month lag significantly impacts HFRS transmission in the two counties in Northwest China. Moreover, the SARIMAX models exhibit accurate forecasting ability of HFRS cases. Our findings provide scientific support for local HFRS monitoring and control, and the development of a HFRS early warning system.