Title:
The spatial distribution of leprosy in four villages in Bangladesh : an observational study
Authors:
Fischer, E.A.J.
,
Pahan, D.
,
Chowdhury, S.K.
,
Oskam, L.
,
Richardus, J.H.
Year:
2008
Journal:
BMC Infectious Diseases
Volume:
8
PAGE:
7
ISSN:
1471-2334
Language:
eng
Subject:
Health and Nutrition
Keywords:
disease prevention and control
Abstract:
Geographic information systems were used in north-western Bangladesh to create digital maps of four villages in an area with high leprosy endemicity to find new cases. It was found that spatial analysis at the micro-level of villages in highly endemic areas does not appear to be useful for identifying clusters of patients. The search for clustering should be extended to a higher aggregation level, such as the sub-district or regional level. Additionally, in highly endemic areas, it appears to be more effective to target complete villages for contact tracing, rather than narrowly defined contact groups such as households.
Organization:
KIT - Royal Tropical Institute
Country:
Bangladesh
Region:
Asia
,
South Asia
Category:
Research
Right:
© 2008 BioMed Central. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License
Document type:
E-article
File:
115769.pdf