Hotspot analysis of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) using GIS in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose of the study: The main objective of this study was to identify the hotspot area of HFMD reported cases within two local councils, namely, Kuching North City Council and Kuching South City Council, by using Geographic Information System (GIS) technique. Methodology: Two methods, namely, Getis-Ord GI* and Thiessen polygon, were used in this study. Getis-Ord GI* statistics was used to identify the hotspot areas and Thiessen polygon method was used to create an influencing boundary for each village. The analysis was conducted from 2014 to 2018 on the basis of the cases reported and registered with Sarawak Health Department by using ArcGIS Software. Main Findings: The hotspot areas were confined to the Western area of Kuching North City Council, which is located at Rampangi Fasa II and Semariang Pinggir villages. Subsequently, in Kuching South City Council, there were two villages were identified as hotspot areas at Kampung Stampin and Kampung Stutong Baru. Applications of this study: The findings from this study will help local authorities, public health officers, epidemiologists, and the public to identify the hotspot areas of HFMD occurrences and therefore, the information obtained in this study will be of a great help to them in coming up with the necessary mitigation plan to control this disease before it spreads to other locations. Novelty/Originality of this study: Previous studies conducted in Sarawak on HFMD were based on divisional boundaries, which were too broad to be used as a guide for mitigation planning. Therefore, the outcome from this study, which was based on the village boundary, provides more information on the hotspot areas of HFMD at a micro level.