Big data analysis of flow of tuberculosis cases in China, 2014 / 中华流行病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To describe the flow of tuberculosis (TB) cases for medical care in China in 2014.Methods The analysis and visualization of reported flow of TB cases were conducted with software R to indicate the case distribution/flow and the levels of hospital where TB cases sought medical care in different provinces.Results In a province,the TB cases mainly flowed to the province capital,but the inter-provincial flow was mainly to neighbor provinces and from central or westem provinces to eastem provinces (municipality),such as Beijing,Shanghai and Guangdong.The grade Ⅲ (A) hospitals were the choice of most TB cases seeking medical care in other provinces.Conclusion The epidemic situation of TB in China is still serious,and the flow of TB cases would facilitate the spread of the disease.It is necessary to strengthen the research on influence of TB case flow for seeking medical care on the spread of TB to provide evidence for better TB prevention and control.