GIS-based infectious disease mapping: A case study of hotspots of dengue virus in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Background: Over the years, the incidences of dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) reported in Vietnam have been on the rise. Therefore, the objective of the study is to investigate the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) in infectiou disease mapping.
Methods: Histogram and Getis and Ord’s statistic will be employed to analyze the spatial distribution of DHF. More specifically, histogram will be firstly used to study the distribution of DHF. Getis Ord’s statistic-based spatial autocorrelation analysis will be then applied to detect spatial distribution of hotspots of DHF. Spatial distribution of DHF hotspot will be mapped with the help of a GIS. Finally, hotspot of DHF in August of 2023 in Ho Chi Minh city will be discussed.
Results: it was found that a total of 3 hotspots and 1 coldspot was successfully detected. Three hotspots of DHF incidence were identified in the most dense and intense of the city's residential zoning districts in the west and south of the city including District 4 (11 cases/100,000 people), Binh Chanh (16 cases/100,000 people), Can Gio (5 cases/100,000 people). Whereas, a coldspot was also detected in Tan Phu (24 cases/100,000 people), a district in the city center.
Conclusions: Findings in this study confirm the effectiveness use of GIS in infectious disease mapping of DHF incidence. These findings implicate human activities associated with population density, as main factors contributing to the spread of DHF.