Disease Surveillance and Monitoring using GIS  Rajiv Gupta Associate Professor, Civil Engg. Group, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (Raj.), 333031, India, Ph.No:091- 01596-245030 (R); 01596-245073*277, Fax: 91-1596-244183. email: rajiv@bits-pilani.ac.in  R.Shriram Under graduate student, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani (Raj.), 333 031, India email: shriramramartanam@yahoo.co.in, f2000667@bits-pilani.ac.in Introduction 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. These categories are influenced by various factors. 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 reemerging infections cross taxonomic lines to include viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and helminthes. High-risk areas can be identified using GIS and remote sensing technologies that would otherwise be difficult to detect using traditional methods. Control and education programs can be directed toward these areas with more confidence and effectiveness. The following images shows the analysis part done in arcview GIS. 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. Public health resources, specific diseases and other health events can be mapped in relation to their surrounding environment and existing health and social infrastructures. Such information when mapped together creates a powerful tool for monitoring and management of epidemics. GIS helps us out in many ways. These include the following applications.
Climate Infectious diseases that are responsive to climate can be divided into two groups. The first group comprises those diseases for which there are clearly documented links between incidence and climate and weather factors. The second group comprises diseases whose incidence is cyclical, thereby suggesting a link to climate, but for which the potential mechanisms linking climate factors to incidence are either unknown or only tentatively established (Giesecke 1999). Temperature Microorganisms carried by vectors, such as mosquitoes, ticks, and other blood-sucking arthropods, are strongly influenced by temperature of the microenvironment within their cold-blooded vector hosts. The survival rates of vectors and the rates of multiplication and transmission of the microorganisms that infect them are temperature dependent. Over the low temperature threshold, the rates of development of the parasite and the vector population increase with temperature, thereby increasing transmission capacity.
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