A study on spatial distribution of infectious diseases based on a normal Q-Q plot and GIS

Abstract

Background: Distribution of infectiousdisease location based on Geographic Information System (GIS) is considered as an infrastructure in the field of health in formation managment and also known as a fundamental issue in the field of new tachnologies in police medicine. The aim of this article is to carry out a study on spatial distribution of infectious diseases based on a normal Q-Q plot and GIS. Case studies from hand, foot, mouth diseases (HFMD) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) will be illustrated in Ho Chi Minh city (Vietnam). Methods: The normal Q-Q plot was firstly constructed to study the distribution of HFMD and DHF cases and HFMD and DHF incidence. A GIS was then employed to map the spatial distribution of the HFMD and DHF incidence. Finally, the study results in Ho Chi Minh city was discussed and concluded. Results: It was found that (i) the observed values from HFMD/DHF cases were mostly not on the expected straight line of the normal distribution in the normal Q-Q plot (ii) The high HFMD/DHF infection rate were mainly concentrated in the center of the city. The highest infection rate area was found in District 1, followed by districts District 5, District 3, District 11 and District 11. Whereas, districts having low HFMD/DHF infection rates included District 9, Nha Be, Cu Chi and Can Gio. Conclusions: Findings in this study indicated that the combination of a normal Q-Q plot and a GIS is an effective tool to monitor and control the various infectious diseases.