Plataforma TI de vigilancia entomológica del Aedes aegypti con colaboración colectiva, Web GIS y mHealth / IT platform for entomological surveillance of Aedes aegypti with crowdsourcing, Web GIS and mHealth / Plataforma de TI para vigilância entomològica de Aedes aegypti com colaboração coletiva, Web GIS e mHealth

RESUMEN El mosquito Aedes aegypti es una especie antropoflica que se ha adaptado a entornos urbanos y es el principal vector de enfermedades como el dengue, la fiebre de Zika, la enfermedad del Chikungunya y la fiebre amarilla, lo que representa una importante carga al sistema de salud, en especial en países tropicales donde es endèmico. Ejercer apropiadamente la vigilancia en salud pública es fundamental para la prevención de estas enfermedades mediante sistemas de información. El propósito de este trabajo es proporcionar una plataforma de tecnologias de la información (TI), integrando tecnologias abiertas Web GIS y mHealth para la vigilancia entomológica del vector a partir de colaboración abierta distribuida para la generación de mapas de infestación. Se realizó un piloto con un grupo focal de 23 estudiantes del curso de epidemiologia, que permitió registrar l20 elementos en 55 reportes en la Universidad de los Llanos para la generación automática de 21 mapas de calor de sintomas, zancudos y criaderos, y un mapa global de infestación. Este trabajo sugiere una perspectiva novedosa de interacción y participación colaborativa de la comunidad con las autoridades de salud soportado por las TI.

ABSTRACT The Aedes aegypti mosquito is an anthropophilic species that has adapted to urban environments and it is the main vector of diseases such as dengue, Zika fever; Chikungunya disease and yellow fever; which represents a significant burden on the health system, especially in tropical countries where it is endemic. Properly exercising public health surveillance is essential for the prevention of these diseases through information systems. The purpose of this work is to provide an information technology (IT) platform, integrating open technologies Web GIS and mHealth for the entomological surveillance ofthe vector; based on crowdsourcing for the generation of infestation maps. A pilot was carried out with a focus group of 23 students from the epidemiology course, which allowed the registration of l20 elements in 55 reports at the Universidad de los Llanos for the automatic generation of 2l heatmaps of symptoms, mosquitoes and breeding sites, and a global infestation map. This work suggests a novel perspective of interaction and collaborative participation of the community with health authorities supported by IT

RESUMO O mosquito Aedes aegypti è uma espècie antropofílica que se adaptou aos ambientes urbanos e è o principal vetor de doenças como dengue, febre Zika, doença Chikungunya e febre amarela, o que representa uma carga significativa para o sistema de saúde, especialmente em países tropicais onde é endêmica. O exercício adequado da vigilância em saúde pública è essencial para a prevenção dessas doenças por meio de sistemas de informação. O objetivo deste trabalho è fornecer uma plataforma de tecnologia da informação (TI), integrando tecnologias abertas Web GIS e mHealth para a vigilância entomológica do vetor com base em uma colaboração aberta distribuída para a geração de mapas de infestação. Um piloto foi realizado com um grupo focal de 23 estudantes do curso de epidemiologia, que permitiu o registro de l20 elementos em 55 relatórios na Universidad de los Llanos para a geração automática de 2l mapas de calor de sintomas, mosquitos e criadouros, e um mapa de infestação global. Este trabalho sugere uma nova perspectiva de interação e participação colaborativa da comunidade com autoridades de saúde apoiadas por TI.

Projected Impact of Sea Level Rise on Nigeria’s Coastal City of Calabar in Cross River State

This study projects the impact of sea level rise on Nigeria’s coastal city of Calabar in Cross River State. Data for the study were obtained from both secondary and primary sources through the use of the internet and questionnaire administration respectively. The data were analysed using the geographical information systems (GIS), frequency tables and percentages. The results revealed that at 0.3 m rise in sea level, about 4.56% of the total land area will be covered with flood water. This would affect 159 houses, with approximately 1,431 persons. Further, at 3.0 m rise in sea level, about 10.10% of the area will be flooded, affecting 2012 houses with an estimated population of 18,108 persons. Again, the resilience of the residents to the vagaries of flooding by sea level rise is generally low due to very low income and lack of awareness. The study concluded that Calabar City is vulnerable to the impact of sea level rise which is primarily caused by climate change. Therefore, awareness campaign on the impact of flooding by sea level rise on coastal communities should be carried out by the appropriate agencies of government in the State.

Health risks due to pre-harvesting sugarcane burning in São Paulo State, Brazil / Riscos à saúde devido à queima prévia da palha de cana-de-açúcar no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

After 2003, a new period of expansion of the sugarcane culture began in Brazil. Pre-harvesting burning of sugarcane straw is an agricultural practice that, despite the nuisance for the population and pollution generated, still persisted in over 70% of the municipalities of São Paulo State in 2010. In order to study the distribution of this risk factor, an ecological epidemiological study was conducted associating the rates of deaths and hospital admissions for respiratory diseases, for each municipality in the State, with the exposure to the pre-harvesting burning of sugarcane straw. A Bayesian multivariate regression model, controlled for the possible effects of socioeconomic and climate (temperature, humidity, and rainfall) variations, has been used. The effect on health was measured by the standardized mortality and morbidity ratio. The measures of exposure to the pre-harvesting burning used were: percentage of the area of sugarcane harvested with burning, average levels of aerosol, and number of outbreaks of burning. The autocorrelation between data was controlled using a neighborhood matrix. It was observed that the increase in the number of outbreaks of burning was significantly associated with higher rates of hospital admissions for respiratory disease in children under five years old. Pre-harvesting burning of sugarcane effectively imposes risk to population health and therefore it should be eliminated.

Após 2003, teve início um novo período de expansão da cultura da cana-de-açúcar no Brasil. A queima prévia da palha de cana é uma prática agrícola, que, apesar dos incômodos à população e da poluição gerada, ainda persistia em mais de 70% dos municípios do Estado de São Paulo, em 2010. A fim de estudar a distribuição desse fator de risco, realizou-se um estudo epidemiológico ecológico associando as taxas de óbitos e as internações por doenças respiratórias, para cada município do Estado, com a exposição à queima prévia da palha de cana. Foi aplicado um modelo Bayesiano de regressão multivariada, sendo controlado para os possíveis efeitos das variações socioeconômicas e climáticas (temperatura, umidade e precipitação). O efeito sobre a saúde foi medido por meio da razão de mortalidade e morbidade padronizada. Como medidas de exposição à queima prévia foram usadas o percentual da área de cana colhida com queima, os níveis médios de aerossol e a quantidade de focos de queima. A autocorrelação entre os dados foi controlada pelo emprego de uma matriz de vizinhança. Observou-se que o aumento no número de focos de queima esteve associado significativamente com o aumento das internações por doenças respiratórias na faixa etária de menores de cinco anos. A queima prévia da palha da cana-de-açúcar oferece efetivamente risco à saúde da população, portanto sua eliminação deve ser promovida.

Organização, disponibilização e possibilidades de análise de dados sobre desastres de origem climática e seus impactos sobre a saúde no Brasil / Organization, availability and possibility of analysis of disaster data of climate related origin and its impacts on health

A ocorrência de desastres muitas vezes é associada a processos naturais imprevisíveis. No entanto, a análise de grandes bases de dados permite mostrar tendências sazonais e de longo prazo, bem como padrões e áreas onde se concentram riscos. Neste trabalho é descrito o processo de aquisição e organização de dados sobre desastres, coletados pelos órgãos de defesa civil, e disponibilizados pelo Observatório Nacional de Clima e Saúde. As análises preliminares mostram a concentração de eventos desastres causados por chuvas intensas ao longo da costa brasileira, principalmente durante o verão. As secas apresentam maior duração e extensão, atingindo grande parte do sul e nordeste do país. Estes dados podem ser usados para analisar e monitorar o impacto de eventos climáticos extremos sobre a saúde, bem como seus determinantes de vulnerabilidade e clima.

The occurrence of disasters is often related to unforeseeable able natural processes. However, the analysis of major databases may highlight seasonal and long-term trends, as well as some spatial patterns where risks are concentrated. In this paper the process of acquiring and organizing climate-related disaster data collected by civil protection institutions and made available by the Brazilian Climate and Health Observatory is described. Preliminary analyses show the concentration of disasters caused by heavy rainfall events along the Brazilian coastline especially during the summer. Droughts have longer duration and extent, affecting large areas of the south and northeast regions of the country. These data can be used to analyze and monitor the impact of extreme climatic events on health, as well as identify the vulnerability and climate deteminants.

Spatial-temporal analysis on the distribution of infected snail at the village level in Anhui province, 2006-2012 / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective The characteristics of spatial-temporal distribution on infected snails were analyzed at the village level in Anhui province,2006-2012.Methods Data on the distribution of infected snails from 2006 to 2012 in Anhui province was collected.Spatial database was established by ArcGIS 9.3.Retrospective spatial-temporal cluster analysis was done by SaTScan 9.1.1 at the village level.Results Eight areas with increased risk and distributed along the upstream to downstream of Yangtze and connecting branch rivers,were found having infected snails,from 2006 through 2012,including one area in 2006,five in 2006-2008,one in 2007-2009 and one in 2009-2011,respectively.Proportion on the number of areas with infected snails decreased from 6.2％ in 2006 to 0.5％ in 2012.Conclusion The spatial-temporal distribution of infected snail was not random but there appeared significant clusters.The trend seemed to be declining in Anhui province,between 2006 and 2012.Areas being detected as smails positive were important for the schistosomiasis control program to be carried out in Anhui province.

Temporal changes of land use in Asi river delta (Hatay, Southern Turkey).

Increasing non-ecological land use necessitates more efficient using and utilization of land by man. Therefore, in recent years studies on sustainable land use have gained momentum. In this study, temporal change in land use, mainly between years 1940 and 2010, in Asi river delta on Southern Turkey was covered. To this end, in addition to literature, topographical maps and satellite images from year 1940 and after were used. Also, data were collected through field studies and interviews. Collected data were evaluated from geographical viewpoint using Geographical information system (GIS) and Remote sensing (RS) methods. Unplanned settlement in delta has reached levels high enough to threaten agricultural fields. Especially, great tendency shown by Samandag city and the villages around it towards expanding into delta is an indicator of this threat. In addition, uncontrolled sand mining and touristic facilities on the coastline are also indicators of wrong land use. In future, direction of settlement to slopes around the delta rather than lowlands will be a much more ecological approach.

Land use and land cover change detection in Karinca river catchment (NW Turkey) using GIS and RS techniques.

The basin of Karinca river, in the north-west of Turkey, covers an area of 29,840 ha. Pronounced changes in land use emerged as a result of the development of activities in the tourism sector in Turkey in the 1970’s. The basin has been significantly affected in the course of this process. This study was conducted in order to determine the land use changes (as well as the type of changes and their direction) occurring in the use of land in the Karinca river catchment for the period 1979-2007. The geographical data were gathered by using 1:25000 scale topographical maps as a basis. Thus, the existing soil and land use data from 1979 were processed on these bases and the the main materials rendering the land use were produced. Geometric verification was made by putting the previously prepared bases onto landsat ETM+ and satellite images of 2007. In the final stage, results pertaining to the changes in land use were obtained by overlapping the two sets of data. All processes were done using the ArcGIS Desktop v9.x program. According to the data of the year 1979, the catchment area consisted of 43.4% forest, 26.5% grassland, 18.3% olive groves, 10.6% agriculture and 1.2% built-up lands. Comparing these coverage with the data of 2007, show a clear shift among residential areas, olive groves and forest terrain. It was found that the agricultural areas, particularly along the shoreline, were converted into resort houses and that the olive groves (the dominant land use) shifted from lower regions to its upper sectors. All these changes caused loss of natural habitats leading to degradation.

Spatial distribution of Schistosoma mansoni infection before and after chemotherapy with two praziquantel doses in a community of Pernambuco, Brazil

Praziquantel chemotherapy has been the focus of the Schistosomiasis Control Program in Brazil for the past two decades. Nevertheless, information on the impact of selective chemotherapy against Schistosoma mansoni infection under the conditions confronted by the health teams in endemic municipalities remains scarce. This paper compares the spatial pattern of infection before and after treatment with either a 40 mg/kg or 60 mg/kg dose of praziquantel by determining the intensity of spatial cluster among patients at 180 and 360 days after treatment. The spatial-temporal distribution of egg-positive patients was analysed in a Geographic Information System using the kernel smoothing technique. While all patients became egg-negative after 21 days, 17.9 percent and 30.9 percent reverted to an egg-positive condition after 180 and 360 days, respectively. Both the prevalence and intensity of infection after treatment were significantly lower in the 60 mg/kg than in the 40 mg/kg treatment group. The higher intensity of the kernel in the 40 mg/kg group compared to the 60 mg/kg group, at both 180 and 360 days, reflects the higher number of reverted cases in the lower dose group. Auxiliary, preventive measures to control transmission should be integrated with chemotherapy to achieve a more enduring impact.

Soil erosion assessment using geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) study from Ankara-Guvenc Basin, Turkey.

The objective of this research was to assess vulnerable soil erosion risk with qualitative approach using GIS in Ankara-Guvenc Basin. The study area is located about 44 km north of Ankara and covers 17.5 km2. The selected theme layers of this model include topographic factor, soil factors (depth, texture, impermeable horizon) and land use. Slope layer and land use-land cover data were prepared by using DEM and Landsat-TM satellite image. According to land use classification, the most common land use type and land cover are rangeland (50.5%) then, rainfed (36.4%), week forest land (3.2%), irrigated land (0.7%) and other various lands (rock out crop and lake) (9.2%). Each land characteristic is also considered as a thematic layer in geographical information systems (GIS) process. After combination of the layers, soil erosion risk map was produced. The results showed that 44.4% of the study area is at high soil erosion risk, whereas 42% of the study area is insignificantly and slightly susceptible to erosion risk. In addition, it was found that only 12.6% of the total area is moderately susceptible to erosion risk. Furthermore, conservation land management measures were also suggested for moderate, high and very high erosion risk areas in Ankara-Guvenc Basin.