[Spatio-temporal analysis of along Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River from 2015 to 2017].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the spatio-temporal characteristics of snails along the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River, so as to provide evidence for eliminating schistosomiasis and formulating precision control measures in Jiangsu Province.

METHODS

A total of 75 marshlands were randomly sampled from Nanjing, Zhenjiang and Yangzhou cities along the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River basin, and the spatio-temporal distribution and changing patterns of snails were investigated using the spatial autocorrelation analysis, kernel density analysis and hotspot analysis during the period from 2015 through 2017.

RESULTS

There was a spatial autocorrelation in the mean snail density along the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River basin during the period from 2015 through 2017. The number of living snails and the density of living snails showed an overall decline in Yangzhou City; however, both showed a slight increase in 2016. Kernel density analysis and hotspot analysis showed that the hotspots of living snails were located in the regions neighboring the marshlands at the Yangzhou-Zhenjiang boundary areas along the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River basin.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a spatial autocorrelation in the snail distribution with hotspots along the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River basin, and the surveillance of snails should not be neglected in the marshlands in Jiangsu Province.