Geographic Information Systems for the study and control of infectious diseases  Rajiv Gupta Civil Engineering Group, BITS, Pilani (Raj.) 333 031, India Tel: 0159-7645073*277(O), 0159-7642252(R), 0159-7645030(R), Fax: 0159-7644183 Email: rajiv@bits-pilani.ac.in  Dee Jay Garauv Clinic, Ashram, New Delhi  Rajni Jain Garauv Clinic, Ashram, New Delhi Introduction An infection process is the interaction of a pathogenic microorganism with a macro organism 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. Living inside its host, the microorganism persists for a definite period of time then moves to another host via a corresponding transmission mechanism. Hence, three obligatory factors are necessary for the onset and continuous course of an epidemic process: source of pathogenic microorganism, the mechanism of their transmission, and microorganisms susceptible to infection. Basic concepts in disease emergence are: Emergence of infectious diseases is complex; Infectious diseases are dynamic; Most new infections are not caused by genuinely new pathogens; Agents involved in new and reemergent infections cross taxonomic lines to include viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and helminthes; The concept of the microbe as the cause of disease is inadequate and incomplete; Human activities are the most potent factors driving disease emergence; Main factors are: Social, economic, political, climatic, technologic, environmental factors, shape, disease patterns and influence emergence; Understanding and responding to disease emergence require a global perspective, conceptually and geographically. In designing prospective studies careful consideration needs to be given to the following factors: Range of pathogens is potentially unlimited so microbial indicators need to be selected; Health outcomes are uncommon; Participant selection: general population, susceptible groups such as children or immuno-compromised, a representative sample; Case definition and ascertainment; Exposure assessment; Data analysis. In this ever increasingly complex world, it is no surprise that the problems that face public health researches are becoming more and more intricate to solve. A cross-disciplinary approach may be one of the ways to discover new methods. Recently, GIS has emerged as an important component of many projects in public health and epidemiology [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 13, 15, 16, 20]. Epidemiologists have traditionally used maps when analyzing associations between location, environment, and disease. GIS has been used in the 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, identification of high-risk health groups, planning and programming of activities, and monitoring and evaluation of interventions. GIS enabled researchers to locate high prevalence areas and populations at risk, identify areas in need of resources, and make decisions on resource allocation. Good epidemiology science and good geographic information science go hand in hand. Many development agencies and government institutions are exploring Health GIS in India. However, the sheer size of our country, varied life styles, climatic zones and environmental conditions make it all the more important for India to have a health GIS.
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