This study analyzes the differences between the spatial and temporal patterns of cholera and noncholera watery diarrhea in rural Bangladesh. Several characteristics were observed in the temporal distribution of 1273 cholera cases and 4984 noncholera watery diarrhea cases, revealing differences between the temporal patterns of the two disease categories. The main cholera peaks were in September and October in each of the three study years. There was an irregular temporal cycle to noncholera watery diarrhea. There were many small, highly dispersed high-risk areas for cholera. In contrast, the high-risk areas for noncholera are clustered in only a few areas. These findings are also consistent with the theory that cholera is a disease for which the spatial distribution is partly controlled by environmental parameters whereas noncholera disease transmission is controlled by other nonenvironmental parameters.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BaileyT CGatrellA C, 1995Interactive Spatial Data Analysis (Longman, Harlow, Essex).
2.
BaquiA HSackR BBlackR EHaiderKHossainAAlimARM AYunusMChowdhuryH RSiddiqueA K, 1992a, “Enteropathogens associated with acute and persistent diarrhea in Bangladeshi children < 5 year of age”The Journal of Infectious Diseases166792–796.
3.
BaquiA HBlackR EMitraA KChowdhuryH RZamanKFaveauVSackR B, 1992b, “Diarrhoeal diseases: Matlab experience”, The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka.
4.
BenensonA S, 1990, “Control of communicable diseases in man”, American Public Health Association, Washington, DC.
5.
BlackR EMersonM HRahmanA S M MYunusMAlimA R M AHuqIYolkenR HCurlinG T, 1980, “A two-year study of bacterial, viral, and parasitic agents associated with diarrhea in rural Bangladesh”The Journal of Infectious Diseases142660–664.
6.
BlackR EMersonM HHuqIAlimARM AYunusM D, 1981, “Incidence and severity of rotavirus and Escherichia coli diarrhoea in rural Bangladesh”The Lancet1141–143.
7.
ColwellR RSpiraW M, 1992, “The ecology of Vibrio cholerae”, in Cholera Eds BaruaDGreenoughW B (Plenum, New York) pp 107–128.
8.
ColwellR RBraytonP RGrimesD JRoszakD RHuqS APalmerL M, 1985, “Viable, but nonculturable Vibrio cholerae and related pathogens in the environment: Implications for release of genetically engineered micro-organisms”Bio/Technology3817–820.
9.
CuzickJEdwardsR, 1990, “Spatial clustering for inhomogeneous populations”Journal of the Royal Statistical Society B5273–104.
10.
EmchM, 1999, “Diarrheal disease risk in Matlab, Bangladesh”Social Science and Medicine49519–530.
11.
EmchM E, 2000, “Relationships between flood control, kala-azar, and diarrheal disease in Bangladesh”Environment and Planning A321051–1063.
12.
GatrellA CBaileyT CDigglrP JRowlingsonB S, 1996, “Spatial point pattern and its application in geographical epidemiology”Transactions of the Institute of British Geography, New Series21256–274.
13.
GlassR IBeckerSHuqM IStollB JKhanM UMersonM HLeeJ VBlackR E, 1982, “Endemic cholera in rural Bangladesh, 1966–1980”American Journal of Epidemiology116959–970.
14.
HallA J, 1988An Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Impact and Bangladesh's Chandpur Flood Control and Irrigation Project doctoral thesis, Department of Agriculture, University College of North Wales, Bangor.
15.
HughesJ MBoyceJ MLevineR JKhanMAzizK M AHuqM ICurlinG T, 1982, “Epidemiology of eltor cholera in rural Bangladesh: Importance of surface water in transmission”Bulletin of the World Health Organization60395–404.
16.
HuqAColwellR RRahmanRAliAChowdhuryRParveeenSSackD ARussek-CohenE, 1990, “Detection of Vibrio cholerae 01 in the aquatic environment by fluorescent-monoclonol antibody and culture methods”Applied and Environmental Microbiology562370–2373.
17.
ICDDR-B, 1993, “Briefing file of ICDDR-B”, unpublished manuscript, Matlab Health and Research Centre, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka.
18.
KhanMMosleyW HChakrabortyJSarderA MKhanM R, 1981, “The relationship of cholera to water source and use in rural Bangladesh”International Journal of Epidemiology10(1) 23–25.
19.
LewisM S, 1980, “Spatial clustering in childhood leukaemia”Journal of Chronic Disease33703–712.
20.
OliverM AWebsterR, 1990, “Kriging: A Method of interpolation for geographical information systems”International Journal of Geographical Information Systems4313–332.
21.
RashidE R, 1991Geography of Bangladesh (University Press Limited, Dhaka).
22.
RipleyB D, 1981Spatial Statistics (John Wiley, New York).
23.
TalbotT OKulldroffMTevenP FHaleyV B, 2000, “Evaluation of spatial filters to create smoothed maps of health data”Statistics in Medicine182399–2408.
24.
TamplinM LGauzensA LHuqASackD AColwellR R, 1990, “Attachment of Vibrio cholerae serogroup 01 to zooplankton and phytoplankton of Bangladesh waters”Applied and Environmental Microbiology561977–1980.
25.
WarrenK SMahmoudA A F, 1993Tropical and Geographical Medicine (McGraw-Hill, New York).
26.
WhittemoreA SFriendDBrownB WHollyE A, 1987, “A test to detect clusters of disease”Biometrika74631–635.
