Article: Understanding the spatial clustering of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong

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TitleUnderstanding the spatial clustering of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong
AuthorsLai, PC2
Wong, CM2
Hedley, AJ2
Lo, SV3
Leung, PY
Kong, J1
Leung, GM2
KeywordsGeographic information systems
GIS
SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Spatial distribution
Issue Date2004
PublisherUS Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The Journal's web site is located at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/
CitationEnvironmental Health Perspectives, 2004, v. 112 n. 15, p. 1550-1556 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7117
AbstractWe applied cartographic and geostatistical methods in analyzing the patterns of disease spread during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Hong Kong using geographic information system (GIS) technology. We analyzed an integrated database that contained clinical and personal details on all 1,755 patients confirmed to have SARS from 15 February to 22 June 2003. Elementary mapping of disease occurrences in space and time simultaneously revealed the geographic extent of spread throughout the territory. Statistical surfaces created by the kernel method confirmed that SARS cases were highly clustered and identified distinct disease "hot spots." Contextual analysis of mean and standard deviation of different density classes indicated that the period from day 1 (18 February) through day 16 (6 March) was the prodrome of the epidemic, whereas days 86 (15 May) to 106 (4 June) marked the declining phase of the outbreak. Origin-and-destination plots showed the directional bias and radius of spread of superspreading events. Integration of GIS technology into routine field epidemiologic surveillance can offer a real-time quantitative method for identifying and tracking the geospatial spread of infectious diseases, as our experience with SARS has demonstrated.
ISSN0091-6765
2011 Impact Factor: 7.036
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.373
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7117
ISI Accession Number IDWOS:000224972500044
PubMed Central IDPMC1247620
ReferencesReferences in Scopus
DC Field
Value
dc.contributor.authorLai, PC
dc.contributor.authorWong, CM
dc.contributor.authorHedley, AJ
dc.contributor.authorLo, SV
dc.contributor.authorLeung, PY
dc.contributor.authorKong, J
dc.contributor.authorLeung, GM
dc.date.accessioned2008-06-12T06:40:53Z
dc.date.available2008-06-12T06:40:53Z
dc.date.issued2004
dc.description.abstractWe applied cartographic and geostatistical methods in analyzing the patterns of disease spread during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Hong Kong using geographic information system (GIS) technology. We analyzed an integrated database that contained clinical and personal details on all 1,755 patients confirmed to have SARS from 15 February to 22 June 2003. Elementary mapping of disease occurrences in space and time simultaneously revealed the geographic extent of spread throughout the territory. Statistical surfaces created by the kernel method confirmed that SARS cases were highly clustered and identified distinct disease "hot spots." Contextual analysis of mean and standard deviation of different density classes indicated that the period from day 1 (18 February) through day 16 (6 March) was the prodrome of the epidemic, whereas days 86 (15 May) to 106 (4 June) marked the declining phase of the outbreak. Origin-and-destination plots showed the directional bias and radius of spread of superspreading events. Integration of GIS technology into routine field epidemiologic surveillance can offer a real-time quantitative method for identifying and tracking the geospatial spread of infectious diseases, as our experience with SARS has demonstrated.
dc.description.naturepublished_or_final_version
dc.format.extent388 bytes
dc.format.mimetypetext/html
dc.identifier.citationEnvironmental Health Perspectives, 2004, v. 112 n. 15, p. 1550-1556 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7117
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7117
dc.identifier.epage1556
dc.identifier.hkuros92402
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000224972500044
dc.identifier.issn0091-6765
2011 Impact Factor: 7.036
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.373
dc.identifier.issue15
dc.identifier.openurl
dc.identifier.pmcidPMC1247620
dc.identifier.pmid15531441
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-7244259666
dc.identifier.spage1550
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/49379
dc.identifier.volume112
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherUS Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The Journal's web site is located at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/
dc.publisher.placeUnited States
dc.relation.ispartofEnvironmental Health Perspectives
dc.relation.referencesReferences in Scopus
dc.rightsCreative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License
dc.subject.meshDisease Outbreaks
dc.subject.meshGeographic Information Systems
dc.subject.meshPopulation Surveillance
dc.subject.meshSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome - epidemiology
dc.subject.meshDatabases, Factual
dc.subjectGeographic information systems
dc.subjectGIS
dc.subjectSARS
dc.subjectSevere acute respiratory syndrome
dc.subjectSpatial distribution
dc.titleUnderstanding the spatial clustering of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong
dc.typeArticle
Author Affiliations
  1. Hong Kong Hospital Authority
  2. The University of Hong Kong
  3. Food and Health Bureau