IHME researchers participated in study that applied statistical mapping techniques to the most extensive database of dengue case locations to date to predict global environmental suitability for the virus as of 2015. The database was created with published literature, case reports, and informal online sources, with usable location information extracted from each source. The final occurrence database contains 13,604 unique occurrences, which represent a unique location where one or more dengue cases occurred within one year.

The database includes the following:

• A dengue occurrence point dataset, which contains precise point locations where dengue has occurrence in the past
• A dengue occurrence polygon dataset, which contains small administrative units within which dengue has occurred in the past
• Other disease background points, which contains point locations where other non-dengue infectious diseases have occurred in the past