Ali Mohammad, Emch Michael, Donnay J P, Yunus Mohammad, Sack R B
ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research, Bangladesh.
Health Place. 2002 Sep;8(3):201-10. doi: 10.1016/s1353-8292(01)00043-0.
The bacteria that cause cholera are known to be normal inhabitants of surface water, however, the environmental risk factors for different biotypes of cholera are not well understood. This study identifies environmental risk factors for cholera in an endemic area of Bangladesh using a geographic information systems (GIS) approach. The study data were collected from a longitudinal health and demographic surveillance system and the data were integrated within a geographic information system database of the research area. Two study periods were chosen because they had different dominant biotypes of the disease. From 1992 to 1996 El Tor cholera was dominant and from 1983 to 1987 classical cholera was dominant. The study found the same three risk factors for the two biotypes of cholera including proximity to surface water, high population density, and poor educational level. The GIS database was used to measure the risk factors and spatial filtering techniques were employed. These robust spatial methods are offered as an example for future epidemiological research efforts that define environmental risk factors for infectious diseases.
已知导致霍乱的细菌是地表水的正常栖居生物，然而，对于霍乱不同生物型的环境风险因素，人们尚未完全了解。本研究采用地理信息系统（GIS）方法，确定了孟加拉国一个流行地区霍乱的环境风险因素。研究数据来自一个纵向健康与人口监测系统，并被整合到研究区域的地理信息系统数据库中。之所以选择两个研究时期，是因为这两个时期该病的优势生物型不同。1992年至1996年，埃尔托霍乱占主导地位；1983年至1987年，经典霍乱占主导地位。该研究发现，两种霍乱生物型的风险因素相同，包括靠近地表水、人口密度高和教育水平低。利用GIS数据库来衡量风险因素，并采用了空间过滤技术。这些强大的空间方法可为未来界定传染病环境风险因素的流行病学研究工作提供范例。
