1Research Scholar, Dr. MGR University, Chennai
2Mallige College of Pharmacy, Bangalore
3TCS, Bangalore
*Corresponding Author E-mail: bgpremasudha@gmail.com
Online published on 7 March, 2013.
Disease data analysis and sharing is important for the collaborative preparation, response, and recovery stages of disease control. Disease phenomena are strongly associated with spatial factors. Web-based Geographical Information Systems (WGIS) provide a real-time and dynamic way to represent disease information on maps. WGIS provides excellent means for visualizing and analyzing epidemiological data, revealing trends, dependencies and interrelationships. GIS serves as a common platform for convergence of multi-disease surveillance activities. This paper focuses on presenting a WGIS application created for studying distribution of malaria patients in Tumkur city, India. The application covers two main epidemiological issues: (i) defining the spatial distribution of malaria patients; and (ii) modelling spatial variation of malaria in the city. This study is useful to find out patient distribution, patient data classifications and accessibility to hospital. The spatial data infrastructure can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of public health surveillance for India in district levels.
Web-GIS, Thematic mapping, surveillance, epidemics