ABSTRACT
Objective@#To investigate the hot spots and epidemiologic characteristics of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Jinan municipality from 2009 to 2016.@*Methods@#Disease reports of HFMD in Jinan from 2009-2016 were collected and analyzed with ArcGis 10.2 to show the hot spot in different villages and towns, as well as clustering analysis and descriptive epidemiology to show epidemiologic characteristics.@*Results@#A total of 89 486 HFMD cases were reported and the reported annual incidence rate was 160.94/100000 during the 7-year period, which increased year by year, and within the whole city, each county was at a higher epidemic level; the curve of incidence is unimodal and the incidence peak occurred mostly between May and August, especially in June; 115 severe cases were reported and the ratio was 0.13%. Of the reported cases, 81.51% were between 1 to 4 years old; 60.36 % were children living scattered. The hot spots were like a circle surrounding the core areas, showing a tendency of increase; the proportion of EV71, CVA16 and other enteroviruses were 33.67%、37.22%and 29.09%, respectively, and they appeared in turn, but severe cases were mostly affected by EV71.@*Conclusions@#The HFMD in Jinan is in a highly prevalent level, with low ratio of severe cases. Seasonal(high in summer) and unimodal; more common among children between 1 to 4 years old, living scatted and in urban and rural linking areas, with the tendency of increasing of hot spots; prevalent pathogens appear in turn.
ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: The global positioning system (GPS) technology along with Google Earth is used to measure (spatial map) the accurate distribution of morbidity, mortality and planning of interventions in the community. We used this technology to find out its role in the investigation of a cholera outbreak, and also to identify the cause of the outbreak. Methods: This study was conducted in a village near Bengaluru, Karnataka in June 2013 during a cholera outbreak. House-to-house survey was done to identify acute watery diarrhoea cases. A hand held GPS receiver was used to record north and east coordinates of the households of cases and these values were subsequently plotted on Google Earth map. Water samples were collected from suspected sources for microbiological analysis. Results: A total of 27 cases of acute watery diarrhoea were reported. Fifty per cent of cases were in the age group of 14-44 yr and one death was reported. GPS technology and Google Earth described the accurate location of household of cases and spot map generated showed clustering of cases around the suspected water sources. The attack rate was 6.92 per cent and case fatality rate was 3.7 per cent. Water samples collected from suspected sources showed the presence of Vibrio cholera O1 Ogawa. Interpretation & conclusions: GPS technology and Google Earth were easy to use, helpful to accurately pinpoint the location of household of cases, construction of spot map and follow up of cases. Outbreak was found to be due to contamination of drinking water sources.