Study of Leptosirosis Prevalence on the Territory of Lviv Region with Using of GIS Technologies

Abstract

Introduction. Leptospirosis is one of the most widespread bacterial zoonosis in the world. Understanding the changes affecting the spatial and functional structure of natural foci of leptospirosis, peculiarities of epizootic and epidemic processes is of particular importance for practical medicine. For this purpose, we have chosen a geographic information system (GIS), which helps to summarize information about the incidence of leptospirosis in Lviv region. The aim of the study. Our study aimed to assess the territorial spreading of leptospirosis and identify the risks of infection with this disease in Lviv Oblast based on evident retrospective analysis of the epidemic process using geomapping technologies created with geographic information systems. Materials and methods. An electronic database of leptospirosis cases in humans and infected mouse-like rodents was created using Microsoft Excel. The QGIS 2.0.1 was used to analyze the obtained data, the map of the 259 human and 3524 rodent cases of Leptospirosis in Lviv Oblast was created. All calculations were performed using the ʺStatistica 10.0ʺ application package by Windows. The results were statistically processed using the Fisher’s bilateral test. Results. Layered plotting of the data on Lviv Oblast map demonstrated the diversity and distribution of leptospirosis cases in humans and rodents. Further comparisons took into account the geographical landscape of the Lviv Oblast (Ukrainian Carpathians, Forest-steppe and Forest zones). The greatest number rodents that tested positive was observed in the forest-steppe zone (13.16 %), 10.66 % of all positive animals came from the forest zone, and 10.26 % of test-positive animals came from the zone of the Ukrainian Carpathians (both p value less than 0.05). A similar pattern was found in humans: significantly more cases of the disease were recorded in Forest-steppe zone – 62.94 %, compared with the Forest zone (24.32 %) and the zone of the Ukrainian Carpathians (12.74 %), both p value less than 0.001. Conclusions. The geographic information system allowed to obtain a spatial understanding of the Leptospira geographical distribution in Lviv Oblast. The zoning of the territory with using of geographic information systems determins that the area of the highest risk of infection of leptospirosis for people is the Forest-steppe zone of Lviv Region.