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Population and Environment

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02-09-2021 | Original Paper

Residence in infected neighborhoods and fertility decline during the Zika epidemic in Singapore

Authors: Poh Lin Tan, Tikki Pang

Published in: Population and Environment | Issue 3/2022

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Abstract

Regions of the world exposed to Zika-linked microcephaly cases have experienced significant declines in fertility. In urban settings, arboviral outbreaks depend on neighborhood environmental factors including residential land use and density of drainage networks, and tend to be highly localized due to the flight dispersal of the vector mosquito. This study investigates whether fertility decline was significantly higher in neighborhoods containing known Zika cases, compared to unexposed neighborhoods in the city state of Singapore. The results show that the average monthly probability of conception leading to a live birth fell during the Zika epidemic in both exposed and unexposed neighborhoods, and that the decline was not significantly greater in neighborhoods with known cases. The study suggests that the fertility response to perceived infection risks was city-wide rather than localized. Public disclosures of outbreak locations did not lead to a disproportionate response in affected neighborhoods.

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Title: Residence in infected neighborhoods and fertility decline during the Zika epidemic in Singapore
Authors: Poh Lin Tan
Tikki Pang
Publication date: 02-09-2021
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: Population and Environment / Issue 3/2022
Print ISSN: 0199-0039
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7810
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-021-00389-3

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