Wenbiao Hu

Wenbiao Hu
Queensland University of Technology | QUT · School of Public Health and Social Work

PhD

About

349
Publications
66,609
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9,180
Citations
Additional affiliations
July 2013 - present
Queensland University of Technology
Position
  • Wenbiao Hu
July 2008 - present
University of Queensland
Position
  • Wenbiao Hu

Publications

Publications (349)
Article
Background: While some evidence has potentially linked climate change to carcinogenic factors, the long-term effect of climate change on liver cancer risk largely remains unclear. Objectives: Our objective is to evaluate the long-term relationship between temperature increase and liver cancer incidence in Australia. Methods: We mapped the spat...
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The last decade has seen major advances and growth in internet-based surveillance for infectious diseases through advanced computational capacity, growing adoption of smart devices, increased availability of Artificial Intelligence (AI), alongside environmental pressures including climate and land use change contributing to increased threat and spr...
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Background China has the highest number of liver cancers worldwide, and liver cancer is at the forefront of all cancers in China. However, current research on liver cancer in China primarily relies on extrapolated data or relatively lagging data, with limited focus on subregions and specific population groups. Objective The purpose of this study i...
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This article offers a thorough review of current early warning systems (EWS) and advocates for establishing a unified research network for EWS in infectious diseases between China and Australia. We propose that future research should focus on improving infectious disease surveillance by integrating data from both countries to enhance predictive mod...
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Objectives The concurrent impact of COVID-19 and influenza on disease burden is a topic of great concern. This discussion delves into the epidemiological characteristics of seasonal influenza activity in Shanghai within the context of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. Methods From 2017 to 2023, a total of 11,081 patients having influenza-like illness (ILI)...
Preprint
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Objectives: The concurrent impact of COVID-19 and influenza on disease burden is a topic of great concern. This discussion delves into the epidemiological characteristics of seasonal influenza activity in Shanghai within the context of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. Methods: From 2017 to 2023, a total of 11,081 patients having influenza-like illness (ILI...
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What is already known about this topic?: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) persists as a significant global public health crisis. The predominant strain, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), notably the Omicron variant, continues to undergo mutations. While vaccination is heralded as the paramount solution to cease t...
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Establishing reliable early warning models for severe dengue cases is a high priority to facilitate triage in dengue-endemic areas and optimal use of limited resources. However, few studies have identified the complex interactive relationship between potential risk factors and severe dengue. This research aimed to assess the potential risk factors...
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What is already known about this topic?: Hospitals have experienced a surge in admissions due to the increasing number of Omicron cases. Understanding the epidemiological features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the strain it places on hospitals will provide scientific evidence to help policymakers better prepare for and respond to futu...
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Background: Forecast models have been essential in understanding COVID-19 transmission and guiding public health responses throughout the pandemic. This study aims to assess the effect of weather variability and Google data on COVID-19 transmission and develop multivariable time series AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models for im...
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In Australia, Japanese encephalitis virus circulated in tropical north Queensland between 1995 and 2005. In 2022, a dramatic range expansion across the southern states has resulted in 30 confirmed human cases and six deaths. We discuss the outbreak drivers and estimate the potential size of the human population at risk.
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Background Optimal climatic conditions for dengue vector mosquito species may play a significant role in dengue transmission. We previously developed a species-specific Suitable Conditions Index (SCI) for Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, respectively. These SCIs rank geographic locations based on their climatic suitability for each of these two...
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Background Vector surveillance is an essential public health tool to aid in the prediction and prevention of mosquito borne diseases. This study compared spatial and temporal trends of vector surveillance indices for Aedes vectors in the southern Philippines, and assessed potential links between vector indices and climate factors. Methods We analy...
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Background Little research has been conducted on the spatio-temporal relationship between the severe cases and the enteroviruses infections of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). This study aimed to investigate epidemic features and spatial clusters of HFMD incidence rates and assess the relationship between Enterovirus 71 (EV71) and Coxsackieviru...
Preprint
Full-text available
In Australia, Japanese Encephalitis virus circulated in tropical north Queensland between 1995 and 2005. In 2022, a dramatic range expansion across the southern states resulted in 24 confirmed human cases and three deaths. We discuss the outbreak drivers and estimate the potential size of the human population at risk.
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Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, global efforts to respond to and control COVID-19 have varied widely with some countries, including Australia, successfully containing local transmission, and minimising negative impacts to health and economies. Over this time, global awareness of climate variability due to climate change...
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Background: Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of dengue and contributes to most major epidemics of this virus worldwide. Aedes albopictus is also blamed for certain epidemics, as the 2014 Guangdong dengue outbreak. In Guangdong province, Ae. albopictus is thought to be the dominant vector species, with Ae. aegypti absent from most areas. Whether...
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Using social media for health purposes has attracted much attention over the past decade. Given the challenges of population ageing and changes in national health profile and disease patterns following the epidemiologic transition, researchers and policy-makers should pay attention to the potential of social media in chronic disease surveillance, m...
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Background: Nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are public health measures that aim to suppress the transmission of infectious diseases, including border restrictions, quarantine and isolation, community management, social distancing, face mask usage, and personal hygiene. This research aimed to assess the co-benefits of NPIs against COVID-19 on...
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Exposure to PM2.5 pollution is a significant health concern and increases risks for cancers in China. However, the studies regarding the effect of PM2.5 and esophageal cancer incidence (ECI) among urban-rural areas are limited. In this study, we examined the sex- and area-specific association between exposure to PM2.5 and ECI, as well as explored t...
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What is already known on this topic?: Different socioecological factors were associated with childhood pneumonia in Bangladesh. However, previous studies did not assess spatial patterns, and socioecological factors and spatial variation have the potential to improve the accuracy and predictive ability of existing models. What is added by this rep...
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Long-term exposure to PM 2.5 pollution is a significant health concern and increases risks for cancers in China. However, the studies regarding the effect of PM 2.5 and esophageal cancer incidence (ECI) among urban-rural areas are limited. In this study, we examined the sex- and area-specific association between long-term exposure to PM 2.5 and ECI...
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The use of internet-based query data offers a novel approach to improve disease surveillance and provides timely disease information. This paper systematically reviewed the literature on infectious disease predictions using internet-based query data and climate factors, discussed the current research progress and challenges, and provided some recom...
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COVID-19 is causing a significant burden on medical and healthcare resources globally due to high numbers of hospitalisations and deaths recorded as the pandemic continues. This research aims to assess the effects of climate factors (i.e., daily average temperature and average relative humidity) on effective reproductive number of COVID-19 outbreak...
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Dengue transmission is climate-sensitive and permissive conditions regularly cause large outbreaks in Asia-Pacific area. As climate change progresses, extreme weather events such as heatwaves and unusually high rainfall are predicted more intense and frequent, but their impacts on dengue outbreaks remain unclear so far. This paper aimed to investig...
Article
Background The mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are the primary vectors of dengue virus, and their geographic distributions are predicted to expand further with economic development, and in response to climate change. We aimed to estimate the impact of future climate change on dengue transmission through the development of a Suitable Con...
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Background Previous studies have shown associations between local weather factors and dengue incidence in tropical and subtropical regions. However, spatial variability in those associations remains unclear and evidence is scarce regarding the effects of weather extremes. Objectives We examined spatial variability in the effects of various weather...
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Severe COVID-19 cases place immediate pressure on hospital resources. To assess this, we analysed survival duration in the first 39 fatal cases in Wuhan, China. Time from onset and hospitalization to death declined rapidly, from ~40 to 7 days, and ~25 to 4 days, respectively, in the outbreak’s first month.
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The principal vector of dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses is the mosquito Aedes aegypti , with its ability to transmit pathogens influenced by ambient temperature. We use chikungunya virus (CHIKV) to understand how the mosquito transcriptome responds to arbovirus infection at different ambient temperatures. We exposed CHIKV-infected mosquitoes t...
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Currently, the correlation between ambient temperature and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) hospital admissions remains not determined. The aim of this study was to explore the correlation between ambient temperature and SLE hospital admissions in Hefei City, China. An ecological study design was adopted. Daily data on SLE hospital admissions in...
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Background The emergence and re-emergence of scrub typhus has been reported in the past decade in many global regions. In this study, we aim to identify potential scrub typhus infection risk zones with high spatial resolution in Qingdao city, in which scrub typhus is endemic, to guide local prevention and control strategies. Methodology/Principal...
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Rapid urbanization and industrialization in China have incurred serious air pollution and consequent health concerns. In this study, we examined the modifying effects of urbanization and socioeconomic factors on the association between PM 2.5 and incidence of esophageal cancer (EC) in 2000-2015 using spatiotemporal techniques and a quasi-Poisson ge...
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Background: Dengue is a wide-spread mosquito-borne disease globally with a likelihood of becoming endemic in tropical Queensland, Australia. The aim of this study was to analyse the spatial variation of dengue notifications in relation to climate variability and socio-ecological factors in the tropical climate zone of Queensland, Australia. Metho...
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Background: Ross River virus (RRV) is responsible for the most common vector-borne disease of humans reported in Australia. The virus circulates in enzootic cycles between multiple species of mosquitoes, wildlife reservoir hosts and humans. Public health concern about RRV is increasing due to rising incidence rates in Australian urban centres, alo...
Preprint
Full-text available
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya constitute a significant proportion of the global disease burden. The principal vector of these pathogens is the mosquito Aedes (Ae.) aegypti, and its ability to transmit virus to a human host is influenced by environmental factors such as temperature. However, exactly how a...
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Upper gastrointestinal cancer (UGIC) including esophageal cancer (EC) and gastric cancer (GC), which has been a significant burden in China. Few studies have explored the spatial pattern and association of incidence and mortality using nationwide data. This study aims to explore the spatial pattern and association of incidence and mortality between...
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Background China's lung cancer (LC) burden plays a pivotal role in the global cancer epidemic. Comparing LC burden and population attributable fractions (PAFs) of risk factors between China and other countries/regions is essential to inform effective intervention. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study provides a unique opportunity for such compa...
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Universal vaccination coverage is still far from desired targets in many global regions including Pakistan, despite the success stories and its scientifically proven benefits. EPI Pakistan vaccination coverage data 2012-2016, at district level was collected from Federal EPI Pakistan. District-wise population data were collected from Pakistan Bureau...
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Introduction The relative risk (RR) of long-term exposure to PM2.5 in lung cancer mortality (LCM) may vary spatially in China. However, previous studies applying global regression have been unable to capture such variation. We aimed to employ a geographically weighted Poisson regression (GWPR) to estimate the RRs of LCM among the elderly (≥65 years...
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Background Previous studies have proven that the closure of live poultry markets (LPMs) was an effective intervention to reduce human risk of avian influenza A (H7N9) infection, but evidence is limited on the impact of scale and duration of LPMs closure on the transmission of H7N9. Method Five cities (i.e., Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou an...
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In South East Asia, dengue epidemics have increased in size and geographical distribution in recent years. We examined the spatiotemporal distribution and epidemiological characteristics of reported dengue cases in the predominantly rural state of Sabah, in Malaysian Borneo–an area where sylvatic and urban circulation of pathogens are known to inte...
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Understanding water intake variation is crucial for assessing human exposure to water pollutants. The correlation between water intake and demographic factors warrants further exploration. A cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate urban water consumption and its associated factors among adults in Wuxi, China, in 2015. The water consumption...
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Objective: To investigate the temporal trends in mortality and disease burden of injuries in Anhui province from 2008 to 2017, so as to provide reference for injury control and prevention. Methods: Data of mortality were collected from 9 national surveillance points in Anhui province during 2008-2017 in the Information System for Death Cause Reg...
Article
Background Since 2011 human leptospirosis incidence in China has remained steadily low with persistent pockets of notifications reported in communities within the Upper Yangtze River Basin (UYRB) and Pearl River Basin (PRB). To help guide health authorities within these residual areas to identify communities where interventions should be targeted,...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Ross River virus (RRV) is responsible for the most common vector-borne disease of humans reported in Australia. The virus circulates in enzootic cycles between multiple species of mosquitoes, wildlife reservoir hosts and humans. Despite regular outbreaks, ongoing morbidity and substantial economic costs, the underlying determinants of e...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Ross River virus (RRV) is responsible for the most common vector-borne disease of humans reported in Australia. The virus circulates in enzootic cycles between multiple species of mosquitoes, wildlife reservoir hosts and humans. Despite regular outbreaks, ongoing morbidity and substantial economic costs, the underlying determinants of e...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Ross River virus (RRV) is responsible for the most common vector-borne disease of humans reported in Australia. The virus circulates in enzootic cycles between multiple species of mosquitoes, wildlife reservoir hosts and humans. Public health concern about RRV is increasing due to rising incidence rates in Australian urban centres, alon...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Ross River virus (RRV) is responsible for the most common vector-borne disease of humans reported in Australia. The virus circulates in enzootic cycles between multiple species of mosquitoes, wildlife reservoir hosts and humans. Public health concern about RRV is increasing due to rising incidence rates in Australian urban centres, alon...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background Previous studies have proven that the closure of live poultry markets (LPMs) was an effective intervention to reduce human risk of avian influenza A (H7N9) infection, but evidence is limited on the impact of scale and duration of LPMs closure on the transmission of H7N9. Method Five cities (i.e., Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Ross River virus (RRV) is responsible for the most common vector-borne disease of humans reported in Australia. The virus circulates in enzootic cycles between multiple species of mosquitoes, wildlife reservoir hosts and humans. Despite regular outbreaks, ongoing morbidity and substantial economic costs, the underlying determinants of e...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background Previous studies have proven that the closure of live poultry markets (LPMs) was an effective intervention to reduce human risk of avian influenza A (H7N9) infection, but evidence is limited on the impact of scale and duration of LPMs closure on the transmission of H7N9. Method Five cities (i.e., Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Previous studies have proven that the closure of live poultry markets (LPMs) was an effective intervention to reduce human risk of avian influenza A (H7N9) infection, but evidence is limited on the impact of scale and duration of LPMs closure on the transmission of H7N9. Method: Five cities (i.e., Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou a...
Article
Full-text available
Background Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease and its transmission is closely linked to climate. We aimed to review available information on the projection of dengue in the future under climate change scenarios. Methods Using five databases (PubMed, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Scopus and Web of Science), a systematic review was conducted to ret...
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Full-text available
Purpose COPD prevalence has rapidly increased in China, but the geographical disparities in COPD prevalence remain largely unknown. This study aimed to assess city-level disparities in COPD prevalence and identify the relative importance of COPD related risk factors in mainland China. Patients and Methods A nationwide cross-sectional study of COPD...
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Background: Dengue is a significant public health concern in northern Queensland, Australia. This study compared the epidemic features of dengue transmission among different climate zones and explored the threshold of weather variability for climate zones in relation to dengue in Queensland, Australia. Methods: Daily data on dengue cases and wea...
Article
Pertussis has resurged in many countries over recent years, especially among adolescents and adults. This study assessed the effect of weather variability on resurging pertussis among different age groups in Jinan, China. Data on weekly pertussis notifications by age group and weather factors (mean temperature (MeanT), mean temperature standard dev...
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Backgrounds: Seasonal influenza remains epidemic globally with a substantial health burden. Understanding the transmission patterns and epidemic features of influenza may facilitate the improvement of preventive and control measures. This study aims to assess the epidemic features of influenza among different climate zones and identify high-risk z...
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Full-text available
Scrub typhus is a life‐threatening vector‐borne disease. During the past decade, the number of areas affected by this disease has expanded in many countries. In this study, we aim to identify the spatiotemporal and demographic characteristics of scrub typhus in Southwest China, an emerging endemic region for scrub typhus. Population‐based surveilla...