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ISDS 2016 Conference Abstracts

Application of GIS for Optimization of Epidemiological 
Monitoring
Volodymyr Malakhov, Volodymyr Zavialkin*, Oleksandra Tarasyuk and 
Valentyna Smolnytska
State Institution Lviv Research Institute of Epidemiology and Hygiene of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (SI LRIEH MOH), Lviv, 
Ukraine

Introduction
Technology that combines traditional manipulations with databases 

and complete visualization of geographic (spatial) analysis employing 
maps has been developed in order to explore the possibilities for 
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to be used in sanitary 
and epidemiological surveillance system based on the analysis of 
morbidity and identification of influence of hazardous chemical 
environmental factors on human health.

Methods
Graphical analytic method of information processing allowed 

visual establishing of mathematically determined cause-and-effect 
relationships between levels of air chemical pollution and morbidity 
levels for purulent bacterial meningitis.

Results
Calculated average annual contaminations of atmosphere of 20 

administrative rayons and seven cities of Lviv oblast with carbon 
oxide, lead, sulfur dioxide, and dust during the period 2006-2014 
were the objects of the study. During a year, 1,920 air samples were 
collected per each ingredient for each rayon and city according to 
laboratory data of facilities of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological 
Service in Lviv oblast. Average annual levels of the chemical 
substances were determined within the M.A.C. in all rayons and cities. 
However, 4-6% of individual samples in the rayons and 8-10% of 
individual samples in the cities exceeded the allowed concentrations, 
which imposed a real ecological danger.

Fig. 1. Levels of carbon oxide air contamination within rayons of 
Lviv oblast

Morbidity intensity rates for purulent bacterial meningitis were 
determined for the same period according to statistical reports on 
infectious disease morbidity in Lviv oblast. In different years, human 
morbidity fluctuated from 0.7 to 2.3 per 100 thousand of population 
in the oblast.

The study found the correlation between the concentrations of 
carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur dioxide, and dust in the air and levels of 
incidence of bacterial meningitis in people in the cities of Lviv oblast 
with 1,092 thousand inhabitants, which compose 42.3% of all oblast 
population. Correlation coefficients are r = 0.78 (p<0.001), r = 0.70 
(p<0.001), r = 0.51 (p<0.005), and r =0.68 (p<0.02), respectively.

Fig. 2. Correlation dependencies between air contamination and 
population morbidity rates for purulent bacterial meningitis within 
rayons of Lviv oblast.

The search for a correlation between chemical contamination 
of atmosphere and the morbidity level the rayon population of the 
oblast for purulent bacterial meningitis testified the existence of a 
statistically significant dependence between the level of morbidity 
for all population layers and atmosphere contamination with sulfur 
dioxide, lead, carbon monoxide, and dust. The correlation coefficients 
are r = 0.62 (p<0.002), r = 0.52 (p<0.005), r = 0.63 (p<0.005), r = 0.56 
(p<0.05), correspondingly.

The study found the correlation between the concentrations 
of sulfur dioxide, and lead in the air of Lviv oblast and levels of 

incidence of purulent bacterial meningitis in children. Correlation 
coefficients are r = 0.55 (p<0.05) and r = 0.57 (p<0.001), respectively.

Conclusions
Using GIS approach, the study resulted in the development of 

medical-geographical maps of administrative rayons of Lviv oblast. 
The maps include peculiarities for each year of surveillance. Cause-
and-effect relationships between the levels of the anthropogenic 
pollution of the air basin of Lviv oblast and morbidity levels for 
purulent bacterial meningitis for the oblast population have been 
spatially and temporally visualized as a study result.

Keywords
Meningitis; air chemical pollution; Correlation

*Volodymyr Zavialkin
E-mail: vladyk@i.ua

Online Journal of Public Health Informatics * ISSN 1947-2579 * http://ojphi.org * 9(1):e8, 2017