Spatiotemporal distribution of tuberculosis in Ningxia, 2004–2019

  Objective  To understand the spatiotemporal distribution of tuberculosis (TB) in different areas in Ningxia and provide evidence for the precise prevention and control of TB and the optimization the of medical resource allocation.

  Methods   Based on the standardized morbidity ratio (SMR) of TB in 22 counties (districts) in Ningxia from 2004 to 2019, spatial correlation exploration was used to explore the spatiotemporal distribution of TB in Ningxia.

  Results  The reported incidence of TB in Ningxia showed a decreasing trend from 66.08/100 000 in 2004 to 27.08/100 000 in 2020. TB-SMR showed area clustering in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2016, respectively. The global Moran′s I values were 0.37, 0.29, 0.31, 0.28 and 0.28, respectively. The spatial clustering analysis showed that the high-high clustering area was distributed in southern Ningxia, while the low-low clustering area shifted from central to northern Ningxia.

  Conclusion  The spatiotemporal distribution of TB in Ningxia showed a significant spatial clustering pattern, which might be associated with the social and economic development level, the medical and health resources allocation and population floating. Therefore, it is important to strengthen the TB surveillance in southern and northern Ningxia, carry out targeted TB prevention and control in floating population and reasonably allocate medical resources to improve the prevention and control of TB in Ningxia.