TY - JOUR
T1 - Combining google earth and GIS mapping technologies in a dengue surveillance system for developing countries
AU - Chang, Aileen Y.
AU - Parrales, Maria E.
AU - Jimenez, Javier
AU - Sobieszczyk, Magdalena E.
AU - Hammer, Scott M.
AU - Copenhaver, David J.
AU - Kulkarni, Rajan P.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the partnership of Dengue Relief Foundation and the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health. From the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health, Dr. Francisco Acevedo, Dra. Louisa Amanda Campos, Lic. Jose Antonio Aguilar Garcia, Lic. Julio Rosales, Julissa T Quintero, Judy Martinez, and Lic. Rolando Francisco Lopez Ampea facilitated the creation of the program. The implementation was executed by Dr. Abraham Mayorga, Dra. Gina Hodgson, Benito Rigby, Ronney Novoa Joseph, and Florentine Arnoldo Downs Sambola. Data collection was performed by Orlando Alexander Murray Joseph, Carmen Lopez, Diego Cesar Aguilar Montago, Dale Pablo Cassanova, Hilario Huete Patron, Martha Flores, Sonia Rodes, Rodolfo Mendoza, Oel Cuadra, Ivan Pineda, Siniman William Hodgson, Harry Lopez, and Aldara Cuadra Rios.
PY - 2009/7/23
Y1 - 2009/7/23
N2 - Background: Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne illness that places significant burden on tropical developing countries with unplanned urbanization. A surveillance system using Google Earth and GIS mapping technologies was developed in Nicaragua as a management tool. Methods and Results: Satellite imagery of the town of Bluefields, Nicaragua captured from Google Earth was used to create a base-map in ArcGIS 9. Indices of larval infestation, locations of tire dumps, cemeteries, large areas of standing water, etc. that may act as larval development sites, and locations of the homes of dengue cases collected during routine epidemiologic surveying were overlaid onto this map. Visual imagery of the location of dengue cases, larval infestation, and locations of potential larval development sites were used by dengue control specialists to prioritize specific neighborhoods for targeted control interventions. Conclusion: This dengue surveillance program allows public health workers in resource-limited settings to accurately identify areas with high indices of mosquito infestation and interpret the spatial relationship of these areas with potential larval development sites such as garbage piles and large pools of standing water. As a result, it is possible to prioritize control strategies and to target interventions to highest risk areas in order to eliminate the likely origin of the mosquito vector. This program is well-suited for resource-limited settings since it utilizes readily available technologies that do not rely on Internet access for daily use and can easily be implemented in many developing countries for very little cost.
AB - Background: Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne illness that places significant burden on tropical developing countries with unplanned urbanization. A surveillance system using Google Earth and GIS mapping technologies was developed in Nicaragua as a management tool. Methods and Results: Satellite imagery of the town of Bluefields, Nicaragua captured from Google Earth was used to create a base-map in ArcGIS 9. Indices of larval infestation, locations of tire dumps, cemeteries, large areas of standing water, etc. that may act as larval development sites, and locations of the homes of dengue cases collected during routine epidemiologic surveying were overlaid onto this map. Visual imagery of the location of dengue cases, larval infestation, and locations of potential larval development sites were used by dengue control specialists to prioritize specific neighborhoods for targeted control interventions. Conclusion: This dengue surveillance program allows public health workers in resource-limited settings to accurately identify areas with high indices of mosquito infestation and interpret the spatial relationship of these areas with potential larval development sites such as garbage piles and large pools of standing water. As a result, it is possible to prioritize control strategies and to target interventions to highest risk areas in order to eliminate the likely origin of the mosquito vector. This program is well-suited for resource-limited settings since it utilizes readily available technologies that do not rely on Internet access for daily use and can easily be implemented in many developing countries for very little cost.
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U2 - 10.1186/1476-072X-8-49
DO - 10.1186/1476-072X-8-49
M3 - Article
C2 - 19627614
AN - SCOPUS:69249171371
SN - 1476-072X
VL - 8
JO - International Journal of Health Geographics
JF - International Journal of Health Geographics
IS - 1
M1 - 49
ER -