Role of GIS technology during leprosy elimination efforts in Pohnpei.

This article summarizes Pohnpei State Department of Health Services' utilization of GIS technology and GPS mapping of leprosy cases during the leprosy elimination efforts. Maps generated from ArcMap provided 'hotspots' or areas of high case density, thus providing for more focused screening. Introducing GIS technology in the elimination efforts has led to a diminution of the target number of screened clients per year, thus minimizing resource utilization. GPS technology as a health planning tool in small Pacific island countries can synergize local screening efforts and improve overall public health planning and implementation, in a way that is cost-effective and resource friendly.

A retrospective study of the pattern of sexually transmitted diseases during a ten-year period.

BACKGROUND: Proper knowledge of the patterns of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in different geographical regions is necessary for evolving proper strategies for control of these diseases. AIMS: To study the pattern of STDs and to analyze the changes during a ten-year period from 1990 among patients attending Medical College Hospital, Kottayam. METHODS: Case records of 686 patients with STDs who attended the outpatient wing of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology were studied. RESULTS: There were 504 males and 182 females in the total of 686 patients. Marital contact alone was reported by 123 (67.6%) female patients. Genital ulcer diseases (GUDs) accounted for the maximum number of STDs, with 504 cases (73.5%), followed by condyloma acuminatum (17.5%) and gonorrhea (10.1%). Forty-three patients had multiple infections. The total number of patients during the first year of study was 129, while it was 41 during the last year. Bacterial STDs showed a striking reduction in numbers. The decline was less marked in the case of viral STDs. CONCLUSION: The majority of patients had genital ulcer diseases. Spouses were the most common source of infection for female patients. There was a marked decline in the number of patients with various STDs during the ten-year period. The decline was more evident in the bacterial STDs resulting in an apparent increase of the viral STDs towards the end of the period of study.