Utilization of a geographical information system for surveillance of Aedes aegypti and dengue haemorrhagic fever in north-eastern Thailand

Abstract

The study aims to develop a geographical information system (GIS) for surveillance of Aedes aegypti and dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) in north-eastern Thailand. There are three steps in the development of the GIS - collecting primary and secondary data, analysing the data and searching the target location, and presenting the results via figures on a map. Two sub-districts in each of the five districts in Ubon Ratchathani province with high incidences of DHF cases in the last three years were investigated. Primary {e.g. House Index (HI), Container Index (CI) and Breteau Index (BI)} and secondary data (e.g. number of DHF cases/100 000 population) were collected. The time period was divided into two phases, a low disease incidence phase (February-March 2007) and a high disease incidence phase (June-July 2007). The GIS was developed via ArcView programme 3.2a®. The primary data of Ae. aegypti indices including HI, CI and B indicated a rise in the rainy season period compared with the dry weather period, and the secondary data showed a similar rise and fall in the number of DHF cases in the rainy and dry weather periods respectively. GIS technology can help in planning, implementation and evaluation of the dengue control measures.