Spatial distribution of hand foot and mouth disease in Gansu,2013

Objective To understand the spatial distribution of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Gansu province in 2013, and discuss the HFMD prevention and control in areas with high incidences. Methods Software GeoDa 1.60 was used to conduct spatial local and overall autocorrelation analysis, and Moran's I Ratio was used as analysis index. Software Flexible V3.1 and SaTScan 9.0 were used to conduct regular and irregular spatial scan and software ArcGIS 9.3 was used to show the high aggregation areas of HFMD incidence on map. Results The spatial aggregation of HFMD was obvious in Gansu in 2013 (P0.01). The local autocorrelation analysis showed that the hot spots of HFMD incidence were mainly at some counties or districts of Lanzhou, Maiji district of Tianshui and Guazhou county of Jiuquan, while the cold spots were mainly at Jinchang, linxia, Gannan, Dingxi and some counties and districts of Longnan. The most aggregation areas with high incidence were some counties and districts of Lanzhou and Baiyin (P0.01);while the less possible aggregation areas were some counties and districts of Tianshui and Jiuquan (P0.01). Conclusion Spatial aggregation was observed in the incidence of HFMD in Gansu in 2013. According to the results of this study, effective measures should be taken to strengthen health education and prevent the outbreak of HFMD. Attention should paid to hot spots monitoring and early warning to control the transmission of HFMD.