Spatial Pattern and Distribution of Leptospirosis in Mazandaran Province Using Geographic Information System

Background and Leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases in the world. Some public health problems and diseases are directly associated with geographic context of places, therefore, geographic information system (GIS) could be of great benefit in management of such issues and planning to control the spread of diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the spatial distribution pattern of leptospirosis in Mazandaran province during 2011-2013 using GIS. In this cross sectional study data was collected by GIS. The district division was found to be an inappropriate unit for analysis, therefore, we used Modifiable Areal Unit Problem for correcting the spatial units. Spatial analysis was performed after the integration of spatial data based on network coding within each cell. In our study a cluster distribution of leptospirosis was observed (P< 0.05) and Sari was seen to be the main focus and Qaemshahr and Amol were the next two foci for the disease. Leptospirosis was more common in men. Applying GIS could be useful in determining disease clustering, forecasting the spread of disease and controlling the affecting parameters in Mazandaran province.