Role of GIS in Tracking and Controlling Spread of Disease For Dr. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Role of GIS in Tracking and Controlling Spread of Disease

For

• Dr. Baqer Al-Ramadan

By Syed Imran Quadri CRP 514: Introduction to GIS

• Introduction
• Problem Statement
• Objectives
• Methodology of Study
• Literature Review
• Case Study
• Prevention And Control
• Conclusions
• Recommendations

Introduction

• An infection process is the interaction of a

pathogenic microorganism with a macro

• rganism under certain environmental and

social conditions.

• Microorganisms causing infectious

diseases parasites on host and persist due to continuous reproduction of new generation which change their properties in accordance with evolution of the environment conditions.

Introduction (Cont…)

• GIS has emerged as an important component
• f many projects in public health and

epidemiology

• Geographic information systems (GIS)

provide ideal platforms for the convergence

• f disease-specific information and their

analyses in relation to population settlements, surrounding social and health services and the natural environment

Introduction (Cont…)

GIS is being used in,

• surveillance and monitoring of vector-borne

diseases, water-borne diseases, in environmental health

• analysis of disease policy and planning
• health situation in an area, generation and

analysis of research hypotheses

Problem Statement

• Understanding the determinants of a

disease, and its spread from person to person and community to community, has become increasingly global

• GIS plays a vital tool in strengthening

the whole process of epidemiological surveillance information management and analysis

Objectives

• The main objective is to discuss the role of

GIS in tracking and controlling the spread of diseases which are of epidemic nature and the feasible applications of GIS in identifying their catchment area.

• This paper discusses the case studies for

various diseases with a special treatment to West Nile virus using GIS.

Methodology of Study

• Studying the spread of disease and applying

techniques in tracking and controlling it.

• Literature related to the problem
• Presenting Case studies

Literature Review

• There are various categories under which the

infectious diseases fall.

• These include vector borne diseases, airborne

diseases, waterborne diseases, food borne diseases, and plant and fish diseases.

• High-risk areas can be identified using GIS

and remote sensing technologies that would

• therwise be difficult to detect using

traditional methods

Literature Review (Cont…)

• Control and education programs can be

directed toward these areas with more confidence and effectiveness

• GIS provides excellent means for visualizing

and analyzing epidemiological data, revealing trends, dependencies and inter-relationships.

• GIS serves as a common platform for

convergence of multi-disease surveillance activities

Literature Review (Cont…)

GIS helps us out in many ways,

• Find out geographical distribution and

variation of diseases

• Map populations at risk and stratify risk

factors

• Forecast epidemics

Literature Review (Cont…)

• Monitor diseases and interventions over time
• Route health workers, equipments and

supplies to service locations

• Locate the nearest health facility

Literature Review (Cont…)

• West Nile virus (WNV) is a potentially

serious illness. Experts believe WNV is established as a seasonal epidemic

• Generally, WNV is spread by the bite of an

infected mosquito. Mosquitoes are WNV carriers that become infected when they feed

• n infected birds

Case Study: Fight The Bite With GIS

• Implementation of GIS in the VSC program

has helped communicate and respond to the increased activity associated with the threat and imminent arrival of West Nile Virus

• GIS has helped the VSC program realize

management goals such as improved communication, reduction in resources and costs, and enhanced staff technical skills

Case Study (Cont…)

• VSC continually focuses on mosquito control,

rat control, and surveillance activities for vector-borne diseases such as plague and hantavirus.

• Most recently, West Nile Virus (WNV) has

been transmitted to humans from mosquitoes at a rapid rate

Case Study (Cont…)

• The first GIS project implemented in VSC was

to map the known mosquito breeding sources

• These sources are referred to as sites by the

VSC staff and are recorded in an Access database using a unique site number.

• Additional information such as amount of

treatment material applied and the site visit date is associated with each site number

Case Study (Cont…)

• The accuracy of the initial source GIS layer

was lacking the accuracy needed to perform a point-to-polygon geoprocessing technique to assign property ownership to each source

• In order to map the sources, VSC staff

received training on a DEH GIS intranet based mapping application developed in ESRI Map Objects

Case Study (Cont…)

• DEH GIS mapping application interface the mosquito breeding sources (yellow

triangles), and the results of a basic report (or query) on a selected site.

Case Study (Cont…)

• VSC staff also received training on Global

Positioning Systems (GPS) technology.

• Integration of GPS with GIS allows the field

technician to capture the site location in the field.

• GPS was used in identifying some sites and

in refining the locations of other sites.

Case Study (Cont…)

• GIS techniques were used to determine exact

location, area, and amount of larvicide's for treatment

• This allowed for better contract

specifications and communication among VSC staff, contractors & other agencies

Case Study (Cont…)

map illustrates the aerial mosquito larvicide's applications

Case Study (Cont…)

The map resides on the website and informs the public of WNV test results in San Diego County.

Case Study (Cont…)

• During pilot testing, a GIS buffer technique

was used to identify and notify schools near the area of aerial application

• Overall, the use of GIS technology has

improved the VSC program by providing problem-solving and decision-making tools

Prevention and Control

Surveillance

• Larval Mosquito

Surveillance

• Adult Mosquito Surveillance
• Virus Surveillance

Source Reduction

• Sanitation
• Water Management

Chemical Control

• Larviciding
• Adulticiding

Biological Control

Conclusions

• GIS is an effective tool to monitor and control

the various infectious diseases.

• No research covered a wide number of

contagious diseases with a common methodology with respect to GIS application

• GIS response has proven to be an invaluable

tool and has been integrated as a major component of the West Nile virus Surveillance and Treatment Program

Conclusions

• Tracking Analyst makes it possible to explore,

visualize, and analyze West Nile Virus data relative to time, and has been very useful in determining the scope of an area that must be monitored.

• A major benefit of the ArcView and Tracking

Analyst has been in time saving against doing manual process

• GIS aids in faster and better health mapping

and analysis than the conventional methods.

Conclusions

• It gives health professionals quick and easy

access to large volumes of data

• It provides a variety of dynamic analysis

tools and display techniques for monitoring and management of epidemics

• By tracking the sources of diseases and the

movement of contagions, the populations at risk were identified

Recommendations

• Health administrators, professionals and

researchers need training and user support in GIS technology, data and epidemiological methods in order to use GIS properly and effectively

• Mostly mosquitoes are active at dusk and
• dawn. Staying indoors during these times or

using insect repellent is advisable

Recommendations

• Developing vaccines and treatments as

no specific vaccines or treatments exist for West Nile virus