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Methods to investigate spatial and temporal clustering in veterinary epidemiology
1Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. tecarpenter@ucdavis.edu
Preventive Veterinary Medicine
|March 22, 2001
Summary
Identifying disease clusters in time and space is crucial for rapid control. This review explores temporal and spatial clustering techniques, particularly those used in recent veterinary research, to improve disease management.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Epidemiology
- Spatial Statistics
- Disease Ecology
Background:
- Diseases, particularly contagious or point-source ones, often exhibit temporal and spatial clustering.
- Failure to recognize these clusters can impede disease control and eradication efforts.
- Understanding disease clustering aids in identifying confounding factors and generating transmission hypotheses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and examine various temporal and spatial clustering techniques.
- To focus on methods recently reported in the veterinary literature.
- To highlight the importance of cluster identification for disease control.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent veterinary literature on disease clustering.
- Examination of temporal clustering methodologies.
- Analysis of spatial clustering techniques.
Main Results:
- Various temporal and spatial clustering techniques are available for disease analysis.
- Recent veterinary literature shows increasing application of these methods.
- Effective use of clustering techniques can expedite disease control.
Conclusions:
- Temporal and spatial cluster identification is vital for efficient disease management in veterinary contexts.
- Awareness and application of these techniques can significantly improve public health outcomes.
- Further research and application of clustering methods in veterinary epidemiology are warranted.