The contribution of geographic information systems in the fight against parasitic diseases: the case of Leishmaniasis

Parasitic diseases are a major public health problem because of the number of cases recorded each year, and also the wide distribution of these scourges on Moroccan territory. The objective of this study is to promote the use of health mapping by focusing on the added value of this tool in the study of the spatial and temporal distribution of the incidence of parasitic disease including leishmaniasis, and to determine the relationship between this epidemic and altitude and draw up a health risk map for this plague in the prefecture of Meknes in central Morocco. To do this we have created a database containing the geographical parameters (the communes of the city), environmental (altitude), and sanitary (level of risk of leishmaniasis) through a field study on the cases of leishmaniasis declared at the level of the municipalities of the city of Meknes and using Qgis 2.18 software which is an open source software. We subsequently exploited the database created for thematic analyzes and the creation of thematic maps with a focus on causal links connecting the geographical and environmental factors, This study shows that spatial representation and spatial analysis of impacts is an important tool in identifying risk locations. This spatial representation known as the risk map is essential in the careful identification of high-risk municipalities. Indeed, a risk map is a geographical profile of the incidence that indicates the areas where it is concentrated.